Tuesday, September 19th., 2017
More War: US Bombing Raids on Somalia Pick Up Since June
More War: US Bombing Raids on Somalia Pick Up Since June
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AP Photo/ Kirsty Wigglesworth
Afghanistan
isn’t the only place the US military is increasing operational tempo:
13 airstrikes have been conducted on al-Shabab jihadists in Somalia
since June, Stars and Stripes reports.
If
and when African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeeping troops
depart Somalia, al-Qaeda linked group al-Shabab “would most likely
retake some lost territory,” especially if the Somalia National Army
cannot hold its ground by the time AMISOM personnel leave, a US Africa
Command (AFRICOM) spokeswoman told the military newspaper.
Still, it’s "too early" to decide "what, if any, additional support
will be required from the international community," spokeswoman Robyn
Mack said Monday.
For the first time since the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, a conflict inspiring the Hollywood film “Blackhawk Down,” regular US troops were marshalled to the east African country in late August, according to AFRICOM. The US Army 101st Airborne Division, a specialized air assault infantry unit known as the "Screaming Eagles," was summoned on a so-called “train and advise” mission to bolster the capability of Somali and AMISOM forces.
On Monday, the Pentagon officially announced a troop surge of 3,000 US forces to AFghanistan, keeping with US President Donald Trump’s promise to attack "America’s enemies" in the country, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Andrews confirmed to Sputnik.
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Flickr/ ResoluteSupportMedia
In Afghanistan, meanwhile, the US Air Force dropped 503 bombs in the month of August alone, about two times the monthly numeric average of munitions delivered in 2017, Sputnik reported.