US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that he had ordered military airstrikes on a senior Islamic State (ISIS) attack planner and other members of the group in Somalia. The strikes were carried out in the Golis Mountains, an area where ISIS operatives had reportedly been hiding in caves.
“These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
He also emphasised that the strikes had successfully destroyed the caves where the terrorists were hiding and resulted in the deaths of many ISIS operatives, without harming any civilians.
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth provided further details, confirming the operation and stating that an initial assessment indicated multiple operatives had been killed. He also reiterated that no civilians had been harmed during the airstrikes.
“This morning I ordered precision Military airstrikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia,” Trump said.
Hegseth added that the strikes “further degrade ISIS’s ability to plot and conduct terrorist attacks threatening US citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians” and underscored the US’s commitment to eliminating threats.
While ISIS has a smaller presence in Somalia compared to Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab, experts have raised concerns over the growing activity of the group in the region.
Trump’s statement reinforced this stance, declaring, “The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that ‘WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!’”
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