On Wednesday, US special operations forces killed a senior Islamic State group official, Bilal al-Sudani and ten other terrorist operatives in remote northern Somalia.
The operation targeted Bilal al-Sudani, a key financial facilitator for the terrorist organisation, in a mountainous cave complex.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the action left the United States and its partners safer and more secure, and reflected the steadfast commitment to protecting Americans from the threat of terrorism at home and abroad.
The operation had been planned for months and was approved by President Joe Biden after recommendations from Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Mark Milley.
Al-Sudani had been on the radar of US intelligence officials for years, playing a key role in funding IS operations in Africa as well as the ISIS-K terrorist branch operating in Afghanistan.
The US Treasury Department had alleged last year that al-Sudani had worked closely with another IS operative, Abdella Hussein Abadigga, who had recruited young men in South Africa and sent them to a weapons training camp.
The operation came days after Africa Command said it had conducted a collective self-defense strike northeast of Mogadishu, near Galcad. In that incident, Somalia National Army forces were engaged in heavy fighting following an extended and intense attack by more than 100 al-Shabab fighters.
The offensive by Somalian forces against al-Shabab has been described as the most significant in more than a decade.
