In
a move to stop what the U.S. military said was an imminent threat against U.S.
troops and African peacekeeping forces in Somalia, a U.S. strike in Somalia
killed as many as 150 suspected Al-Shabaab fighters, the Pentagon said Monday.
The
Pentagon initially characterized the attack as a drone strike, but later
clarified that the operation involved both manned and unmanned aircraft.
The
strike took place Saturday, 120 miles north of Mogadishu at a training site
called "Raso Camp," according to Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis.
The
camp had been under observation by U.S. Special Operations forces for several
weeks, Davis said. The camp had about 200 fighters on site including Al-Shabaab
trainers.
Separately,
a U.S. official told CNN that the Al-Shabaab fighters were standing outside in
military formation when the strike occurred.
Intelligence
indicated the group was training for some time and was in the final stages of
getting ready to conduct a "large-scale attack," Davis said.
Pentagon
spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement that the attack was taken in defense
of "our African Union Mission" in Somalia and that "The fighters
who were scheduled to depart the camp posed an imminent threat" to the
mission.
He
added, "The removal of these fighters degrades al-Shabaab's ability to
meet the group's objectives in Somalia, including recruiting new members,
establishing bases, and planning attacks" on U.S. and African Union
forces.
The
military did not specify the location of where the U.S. thought an attack might
happen, but it is well known that the U.S. maintains a limited military
presence at the airport in Mogadishu and that small numbers of U.S. Special
Operations forces have traveled to other locations in the country.
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