The U.S. Africa Command announced Monday that five suspected terrorists were killed in Somalia over the weekend, when a missile fired from a U.S. drone hit their vehicle.

It’s the latest report from the front lines of a war that few Americans are paying attention to, but where some 500 U.S. troops, including special operations commandos, are working with the Somali military to battle al-Shabaab, the al Qaeda affiliate.

The counterterrorism mission has been going on for five years, during which U.S. troops have partnered with AMISOM (African Union Mission to Somalia) troops and Somali National Security Forces in operations to target terrorists, their training camps and their safe havens throughout Somalia and the region.

Every couple of weeks, the Africa Commands announces the deaths of small number of al-Shabaab fighters.

Last month, two were killed and three were wounded in a drone strike. In February, the U.S. announced it killed nine suspected terrorists in three separate strikes.

As in other U.S. counterterrorism missions, U.S. troops are supposed to avoid direct combat when possible, and stick to advising partner forces in the field.

But last year’s death of Navy special warfare operator Kyle Milliken during an operation against al-Shabaab in a remote area west of Mogadishu, Somalia was reminder what the Pentagon calls “advise and assist” mission are just another form of combat.

“Al-Shabaab remains a threat to Somalia and the region, as demonstrated by their October 2017 bombing in Mogadishu that killed over 500 people,” said AFRICOM commander Gen. Thomas Waldhauser in testimony last month before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“The challenges facing the federal government of Somalia are enormous,” Waldhauser said, adding there is a “long way to go before they are prepared to secure their own territory.”