Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
United States of America launched airstrikes targeting the al Qaeda-affiliated group, Al-Shabaab, in Somalia on Tuesday (20/7). This is the first US air strike against Somalia during the President’s administration Joe Biden.
A spokeswoman for the US Department of Defense, Cindi King, said that US Military Command for Africa (AFRICOM) was coordinating the attack with the Somali government.
“[AFRICOM] launched an air strike in Galkayo, Somalia, against Al-Shabaab today, “King told AFP.
King said that until now, his party is still gathering information regarding the possibility of victims falling as a result of this attack.
“The results of the investigation are still pending because there are still gunfire between Al-Shabaab and Somali forces. However, initial investigations show that no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this attack,” King said.
This was the first US attack in Somalia since January 19, when AFRICOM announced that it had killed three al-Shabaab members in two separate attacks in Jamaame and Deb Scinnele.
The day after the attack, Biden was sworn in. He immediately limited the use of drones or drones against Islamist groups outside the US war zone, which is only in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.
Pentagon spokesman at the time, John Kirby, said that all attacks against Islamist groups outside Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, had to be approved by the White House first.
This policy contrasts with his predecessor, Donald Trump, who continued to seek to balance the presence of US troops in a number of other countries, such as Somalia and Libya.
During the Trump administration, US drone strikes in Somalia have steadily increased, from 11 in 2015, to 64 in 2019, and 54 the following year.
Shortly before stepping down, Trump withdrew 700 US special forces personnel who had been deployed to Somalia to train and brief local soldiers.
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