“Somali and AMISOM forces have already achieved significant success in recapturing territory from al-Shabab, and additional U.S. support will help them increase pressure on al-Shabab and reduce the risk to our partner forces when they conduct operations,” Davis said. “We stand with the international community in supporting the federal government of Somalia as it strives to improve stability and security in Somalia.”

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Previously, the United States carried out airstrikes in limited circumstances in Somalia, most commonly when there was an imminent threat to Americans on the ground. But senior U.S. military officials had sought leeway to approve strikes more quickly, including through the establishment of a zone south of Mogadishu that is considered an “area of active hostility.”

The proposal had been under review by the Defense Department and other agencies since February, said a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the mission. U.S. troops will now be able to “work closely with our partners to help them capitalize on the tactical gains,” the official said.

Trump signing off on the decision was first reported by the New York Times on Thursday. Marine Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser, the chief of U.S. Africa Command, acknowledged the Pentagon was seeking the additional authorities in a news conference last week. If Trump approved the decision, the general said at the time, it would allow the U.S. military to “prosecute targets in a more rapid fashion.”

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But Waldhauser was quick to add that he did not want to turn Somalia into a “free-fire zone.”

“We have to make sure that the levels of certainty that have been there previously, those are not changed,” Waldhauser said of the militants the United States targets.



The decision comes after a year in which militants took some territory back from the Somali government, and as U.S. and Somali officials prepare for regional peacekeeping forces to begin withdrawing from the country next year. The Islamic State also is making inroads, presenting another complication, Waldhauser told the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 9.

A few hundred U.S. Special Operations troops at a time have been deployed to Somalia, and President Barack Obama expanded the size of the operation in the fall to allow “self-defense strikes” in support of U.S. and African forces on the ground. The new authority goes even further, with the U.S. military advising Somali troops and coordinating airstrikes as needed, said Army Maj. Audricia Harris, a Pentagon spokeswoman.