Somali-US air strikes kill Al-Shabaab militants, destroy weapons ship

Two joint Somali-U.S. airstrikes killed 12 al Shabaab militants in central Somalia and destroyed a ship carrying weapons for the al Qaeda-linked group.

The Somali government said on Thursday, that the air strikes came hours after the group attacked the strategic town of Adan Yabal, which lies about 245 km (150 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu, and has been used as an operating base for raids on Al-Shabaab.

Several senior Al-Shabaab fighters were among those killed in an air strike carried out by Somali forces and the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) in the Adan Yabal district late on Wednesday, said Somalia’s government.

The ministry of information on social media said, “The targeted strike hit a site used by the militants as a gathering place and hideout.

The group has been waging an insurgency since 2007, seeking to seize power and rule based on its own strict interpretation of Islamic law, and it has been gaining ground since last month.

According to the ministry, “A further air strike was conducted by the government and AFRICOM on an unidentified and unflagged ship and smaller support vessels that were believed to be transporting weapons for Al-Shabaab within Somali waters.

“The vessels were destroyed and those on board were killed,” it added.

In a separate incident on Thursday near the south-west city of Baidoa, the national army killed at least 35 Al-Shabaab fighters as they tried to attack a military base there.

Al-Shabaab briefly captured villages within 50 km (30 miles) of Mogadishu last month, raising fears among residents of the capital that the city could be targeted. Somali forces have recaptured the villages, but the group has continued to advance in the countryside, leading the government to deploy police and prison guards to support the military.

The outcome of the heavy fighting that broke out on Wednesday in Adan Yabal was not immediately clear, with government forces and Al-Shabaab giving conflicting accounts of who was in control of the town. According to the group, its forces had overrun ten military installations during the fighting.