American FA-18 Hornet
The United States armed forces carried out a number of airstrikes in Somalia against the Al-Shabaab jihadist group. The administration however, according to CNN did not provide an official reason for these operations and are currently in the process of evaluating the U.S. military's most recent attacks.
Abdikadir Modamed Nur Sidii, a Somalian regional governor reported that they had witnessed an American UAV (Unmanned Arial Vehicle) striking a village that was occupied by the Muslim militants. He explained in an interview with BBC that the drone had struck the towns Dhaab Tubaako and Haaway which is where the jihadist leaders were believed to be hosting meetings.
"We can tell that a senior figure from the group was killed due to the way they reacted after the attack, as they have started committing atrocities in the area, they have beheaded some of the people who had mobile phones and arrested many others [accused of spying]." the governor told BBC.
Al-Shabaab is a Mulsim Jihadist group that is believed to be connected directly to Al-Qaeda and led by Ahmed Godane. The group is reported to have taken control of several areas in southern and central Somalia and its members claimed that they were responsible for the terrorist attack in 2013 on the Westgate mail in Narobi, Kenya. The bombing resulted in the deaths of 67 people.
The airstrike undertaken by the U.S. military specifically targeted Ahmed Godane, the leader of the terrorist organization. However the military announced that are uncertain if the terrorist leader was killed or not in the attack. This was one of several attacks the U.S. had carried out against the Al-Shabaah.
Al-Shabaah, which is aligned with the Al-Qaeda made it their goal to overthrow the Somalian government and have already carried out terrorist attacks against government facilities and even neighboring states that provide troops to the Africa Union Force which is comprised of over 20,000 men.
