Trump struck ISIS in Somalia few days ago

[Scott Downey]

Actual video here

MSN

www.msn.com

I heard of it on another forum and apparently, he did. No mention on the news I saw.

Dramatic new video shows the moment US military bombed a cave complex in Somalia obliterating a senior ISIS “attack planner” and several other militants on Saturday.

The Feb. 1 precision airstrikes — ordered by President Trump and launched in coordination with the Somalian government and US Africa Command — took out several terrorists who, according to Trump, had threatened the US and its allies.

“The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians,” Trump wrote in a post on X accompanying unclassified video of the strikes.

“Our Military has targeted this ISIS Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did!” the president said, taking a victory lap.

US Africa Command confirmed that no civilians were killed or injured in a press release, adding that “protecting civilians remains a vital part of the command’s operations to promote a more secure and stable Africa.”

 

[Scott Downey]

Finding and fighting the militants who have become the beating heart of the Islamic State (IS) group in Africa can be tough work as they hide deep in the mountains of north-eastern Somalia.

But in typical Donald Trump style, after the new US president ordered an airstrike on the area last weekend, he posted on social media: "WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!"

Trump said the hit, less than two weeks into his term, had targeted a senior IS attack planner and other militants in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland and had "destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians".

He boasted that he had succeeded where former US President Joe Biden had failed.

"Biden and his cronies wouldn't act quickly enough to get the job done. I did!"

The fact that Somalia was the target of America's first major military operation under the new administration surprised many in the country who feared the US was planning to abandon them.

In his first term, Trump withdrew about 700 American troops, a decision reversed by his successor.

The $600,000 (£492,000) a year deal the Somalia government recently signed with top Washington lobbying firm, the BGR Group, is an indication of how worried it is.

Under Biden, US troops in Somalia were carrying out special operations, training an elite Somali force and conducting regular airstrikes.

Why Donald Trump is on the warpath against Islamic State in Somalia

Militants in the mountains of north-eastern Somalia have become the beating heart of Islamic State in Africa.

www.bbc.com

A day before the airstrike, the Washington Post published an interview with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in which he pleaded for the US "not to pull out the American advisers and consultants who are supporting the training of our special forces".

A post on X from his office after the strike also had a touch of desperation about it, acknowledging "the unwavering support of the United States in the fight against international terrorism" and welcoming "the continued commitment under the decisive leadership of President Donald Trump".

But airstrikes are different from troops on the ground and Trump did not stop aerial bombardments in his first term. In fact, he increased them to nearly 400.

"The strike does not mean that the US government is going to step up its military engagement in Somalia," says Matt Bryden, the strategic adviser of Nairobi-based Sahan Research.

"Several American officials expected to assume leadership positions on African affairs no longer perceive Somalia's federal government to be a credible partner and are deeply critical of the high levels of security assistance provided in recent years to very little appreciable effect."

Puntland's counter-terrorism approach is different from that of the national Somali government, with which it cut ties in March last year.

It is more self-reliant and not as heavily dependent on support from African Union troops - of which around 12,000 are on the ground - and global powers including the US and Turkey.

As Mohamed Mubarak, head of Puntland's security co-ordination office, points out it is troops from the north-east that have been battling IS for years with little help or thanks from others.

"It is not fair to put the airstrike front and centre while we have been fighting and dying on the ground," Mr Mubarak says.

"Regardless of what the rest of the world is doing, we are fighting IS, which is an international problem," he says.
"We have not seen much support except from Kenya, Ethiopia and the UAE. We don't know if the Americans will conduct more than one airstrike."
Puntland says its forces have captured 48 caves and IS outposts - and destroyed dozens of drones and explosive devices - since launching its full-scale "hilaac" or "lightning" offensive last year.
Although IS has been active in Somalia for about a decade, it has posed less of a threat than the Islamist group al-Shabab, which controls large parts of the country and has been described as al-Qaeda's most successful affiliate.
However, in recent times, IS has become more significant - locally, regionally and internationally.
The authorities in Puntland and unnamed US officials say IS-Somalia's leader, the orange-bearded, bespectacled Abdulqadir Mumin, is now the global head of IS.
Initial reports suggested he had been killed in a US airstrike last May but have never been confirmed.
Whether or not Mumin is the head of IS or is alive or dead, IS-Somalia has become increasingly worrying for foreign states.