The U.S. wiped seven al-Shabaab jihadis off the face of the earth in precision airstrikes, Africa Command stated in a press release Thursday.

The Pentagon conducted three airstrikes against the militant group al-Shabaab approximately 200 miles southwest of Mogadishu in a city called Jilib, a central hub for al-Shabaab fighters.

“U.S. forces work closely with Somali military forces against al-Shabaab in Somalia to degrade the al-Qaeda affiliate’s ability to recruit, train, and plot external terror attacks throughout the region and in the United States,” the statement from U.S. Africa Command read.

Africa Command further noted that al-Shabaab has pledged allegiance to al-Qaida and stated that al-Shabaab’s aim is to conduct terror attacks against the U.S.

“We continue to work in coordination with our Somali partners and allies to systematically dismantle al-Shabaab and help achieve stability and security throughout the region.”

The assault against al-Shabaab has intensified under the Trump administration. Over the weekend, former al-Shabaab deputy leader Mukhtar Robow Ali, who co-founded the group, surrendered himself to Somali forces. Robow initially left the group in 2013 because of a dispute with al-Shabaab’s leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, who the U.S. obliterated in a September 2014 drone strike.

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