US airstrike kills 60 al Qaeda affiliated terrorist in Somalia

Guardian:
A US airstrike has killed 60 Islamist extremist fighters in Somalia, in one of the deadliest ever such operations against the al-Shabaab organisation in the unstable eastern African country.

The US military said Friday’s airstrike occurred near the al-Shabaab-controlled community of Harardere in Mudug province in the central part of the country. According to its assessment no civilians were injured or killed.

It was the most lethal US airstrike the November 2017 attack which killed about 100 al-Shabab fighters. The statement gave no further details about what was targeted, and a US military spokesman said it was not a camp.
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Trump relaxed guidelines intended to prevent civilian casualties and gave local military commanders greater authority in ordering attacks.
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Last year there were 31 such attacks and 15 in 2016, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based research institute.

The US Africa Command spokesman said the airstrike had no link to the anniversary of a massive bomb that killed nearly 600 people in Mogadishu.
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The group, which is affiliated with al-Qaida, has proved tenacious and regularly carries out deadly attacks against high-profile targets such as hotels and checkpoints in the capital and other cities. It also remains a threat in parts of neighbouring Kenya.
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The story does not indicate the aircraft used in teh strike or whether it was done by a drone or piloted aircraft.  If it was a drone it was likely a Reaper which can carry more ordinance.  Trump has stopped the Obama practice of turning over the decision on bombing terrorist to amateurs in the White House.  He has given authority to commanders in the field which appears to be a much more effective chain of command.

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