The United States has destroyed weapons and equipment stolen by jihadists from the Al-Shabaab group in Somalia in an airstrike near a military base of the African Union force, authorities said Saturday. The Bulo Marer base, located 120 kilometers southwest of the capital Mogadishu, was housing Ugandan soldiers when it was attacked Friday by the jihadist group linked to Al-Qaeda.
In a statement, the U.S. Africa Command said it had "destroyed weapons and equipment illegally taken" by radical Islamist Shebab, without specifying when or where the weapons were stolen. "The US Africa Command carried out an airstrike against militants in the vicinity" of Bulo Marer on Friday, in support of the Somali federal government and the African Union force (Atmis), according to the same source.
Al-Shabaab members stormed the base with a car bomb and suicide bombers, resulting in exchanges of fire, residents and a Somali military commander said. The human toll of the attack carried out by these jihadists has not been communicated. The U.S. Africa Command said its "first assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed" during its operation.
See alsoSomalia: attack of the Shebab against a military base of the African Union
Pro-government forces backed by Atmis launched a military offensive last August against al-Shabaab, backed by US airstrikes.
The jihadist group Shebab has been fighting for more than fifteen years the federal government supported by the international community, in order to establish Islamic law in Somalia.
Driven out of major cities in 2011-2012, al-Shabaab remains firmly entrenched in large rural areas, from where it continues to carry out attacks against security and civilian targets.
