US troops embedded with Somali ground forces were ambushed west of the coastal city of Kismaayo in Somalia’s Lower Jubba province, according to local media reports.
The joint unit reportedly departed a US military base at the airport in Kismaayo and were making there way to the nearby district of Beerxaani. However, the joint US-Somali unit came under an ambush prior to reaching their destination, within the vicinity of Yaaq-Xaluul.
During the midst of the ambush, US military aircraft believed to be an unmanned aerial vehicle commonly referred to as a drone carried out an airstrike at the site of the ambush.
This can be attributed to the fact that the US troops and Somali partner forces where being overwhelmed by the Al-Shabaab fighters as a result of the ambush.
A report published on the State Department funded Voice of America claimed a total of five Al-Shabaab fighters where killed in the latest US airstrike.
Its widely believed the unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) which took part in the airstrike departed the nearby US military base in Kismaayo, situated on the grounds of the Sayid Mohamed International Airport.
The US military base at the airstrip in Kismaayo is a hub for surveillance and drone operations of the United States and a launching pad for US military operations in the volatile Jubba valley.
The latest US airstrike in Somalia comes a little over two weeks after the United States announced they would be redeploying troops back into Somalia.
US military operations in Somalia have received unprecedented waves of global condemnation in recent years. A scathing report published by Amnesty International in 2019 accused the United States of committing War Crimes in Somalia as a result of there deadly drone campaign in Somalia, which have killed countless civilians.
Halgan Media
