NAIROBI (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Wednesday it had killed three militants in an air strike targeting the al-Shabaab Islamist group in Somalia the previous day.

The military’s Africa Command (Africom) said the strike was carried out near Somali locations it identified as Quy Cad and Debatscile, an area it said it also struck last week.

“We currently assess this air strike did not injure or kill any civilians,” Africom said in a statement.

The United States carries out periodic air strikes in Somalia in support of a U.N.-backed government there, which has been fighting against an al-Shabaab insurgency for years.