WASHINGTON. This week, the United States launched a drone strike against al-Shabaab militants in Somalia, the first such military action against a Qaeda affiliate in East Africa since AugustThis was announced on Thursday by the African command of the armed forces.
Tuesday’s MQ-9 Reaper strike followed Shabab’s attack on allied Somali forces in Dudubla, about 40 miles northwest of the capital Mogadishu, the command said in a statement.
The command said it was still trying to determine how many Shabab rebels were killed in the strike, but said no civilians were injured.
When the Biden administration took office in January 2021, it set new limits on drone strikes outside active war zones because it worked. develop a permanent policy. While the Trump administration has set general rules for strikes in certain countries and delegated authority to warlords on when to conduct strikes, strike proposals now routinely go through the White House.
But in this case, as in four previous attacks since President Biden took office, White House approval was not required because Africa Command has the authority to strike in support of allied forces in what the military calls collective self-defense.
During this operation, the Somali forces were not accompanied by US troops, according to a spokesman for the Africa Command. Instead, US forces advised and assisted the mission of Somali forces from a remote location, but the official did not say where it was.
By order of President Donald J. Trump, most of the 700 US troops based in Somalia to advise and assist the Somali military and counterterrorism forces were withdrawn in the last weeks of his administration and deployed to neighboring Kenya and Djibouti.
Mr. Biden and his advisers are moving closer to a decision on a Pentagon-backed proposal to restore some of these troops to Somalia to improve training and coordination with Somali security forces. Now American instructors periodically come to the country.
American commanders said that the lack of a permanent presence of instructors, coupled with political instability in Somalia allowed Shabab to flare up.
“I think that in East Africa, especially in Somalia, al-Shabaab is taking advantage of the fact that the political leadership there is distracted by a protracted political crisis,” General Stephen J. Townsend, head of the Africa Command, said recently. “While this is happening, the pressure on al-Shabaab is being lifted.”
During a visit to Somalia, Djibouti and Kenya last weekHe added: “Al-Shabaab remains the largest, richest and deadliest affiliate of al-Qaeda.”