Weekend drone strike on ‘Raso’ training camp ordered after US intelligence indicated an imminent threat posed by the trainees, Pentagon says

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The US has carried out an airstrike in Somalia, killing more than 150 people the Pentagon said were fighters with the al Qaida-linked Islamist group al-Shabaab.

The strike, followed US intelligence on preparations for a large-scale militant attack, according to the Pentagon.

The weekend strike using both unmanned drones and manned aircraft targeted al-Shabaab’s “Raso” training camp, a facility about 120 miles north of the capital Mogadishu, the Pentagon said.



The US military said on Monday it had been monitoring the camp for several weeks before the strike and had gathered intelligence, including about an imminent threat posed by the trainees.

“We know they were going to be departing the camp and that they posed an imminent threat to US and to Amisom, African Union mission in Somalia forces, that are in Somalia,” said Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis.

The strike, using drones as well as piloted warplanes, has killed a reported 150 people – the largest casualty total in a US military attack of the post-9/11 era – although Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said on Monday the military was still “assess[ing] the results of the operation”.

Al-Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping forces in 2011 but has remained a potent antagonist in Somalia, launching frequent attacks in its bid to overthrow the western-backed government.

The group, whose name means “The Youth”, seeks to impose its strict version of sharia law in Somalia, where it frequently unleashes attacks targeting security and government targets, as well as hotels and restaurants in the capital.

Al-Shabaab was also behind deadly attacks in Kenya and Uganda, which both contribute troops to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

Davis said as many as 200 fighters were believed to be training at the Raso camp at the time of the strike and expressed confidence there were no civilian casualties.

“Their removal will degrade al-Shabaab’s ability to meet the group’s objectives in Somalia, which include recruiting new members, establishing bases and planning attacks on US and Amisom forces there,” Davis said.

No US forces on the ground participated in the strike.