A US surveillance drone crashed in the Al Shabaab controlled town of Tooratooroow in Somalia’s volatile Lower Shabelle province while on a reconnaissance mission.
According to local contacts based in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle province, the US surveillance drone was hovering over prior to crashing in the vicinity of the town.
Sources reveal the drone crashed today shortly after Duhur prayer. Dozens of Al Shabaab fighters swarmed the site of the US drone and subsequently cordoned off the area. The militants than seized the drone, taking it to an undisclosed location.
The town of Tooratoorow switched hands numerous occasions over the past several years as Al Shabaab militants and Somali Govt troops backed by Foreign forces wrestled control over the town from one another.
Somali Government troops backed by US special forces and American air power briefly seized control of the town of Tooratooroow last week, after militants abruptly withdrew from the strategic town. Al Shabaab fighters retook control of the town several hours later after Somali and US special forces abandoned the town without reason.
AFRICOM, which is the branch overseeing US military operations in Africa is yet to address, let alone admit a surveillance drone crashed in militant controlled territory while on a reconnaissance mission.
However over the past few weeks the US has conducted an uptick in drone strikes targeting militant controlled localities in the Lower Shabelle province, with a total of 5 drone strikes so far this month alone.
We’ll keep you updated as this story breaks.
Halgan Media
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