A US soldier killed in combat with Al-Shaabab in Jubaland, Somalia, has been identified as Alexander Conrad, the Hill reported yesterday.

Conrad was killed in an ambush by Somalia’s Al-Qaeda affiliate on Friday at 14:25 Somali local time. Four other US military personnel were injured in the attack and taken to a US medical centre in Kenya for medical treatment. Al-Shabaab executed mortars and gunfire against an 800 military force comprising of US soldiers, Somalia National Security Forces and the Kenyan Defence Forces.

The troops had been on a mission to clear Al-Shabaab from contested areas as well as villages the militants controlled, “and establish a permanent combat outpost” to expand the reach of the Somali state, the US military’s Africa Command said in a statement.

Conrad was part of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, Airbone in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His mission was human intelligence, according to Reuters. Conrad’s death marks the first US combat killing since last year’s controversial Niger ambush where four US soldiers were killed.

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The US has some 500 personnel stationed in Somalia, including soldiers that fight alongside local government force. US drones and manned aircrafts are stationed in Djibouti, north Somalia, where the African Union Mission (AFRICOM) in Somalia coordinates its mission across the country.

Al-Shabaab began its insurgency in 2006 to establish a state based on its strict interpretation of Islamic law. In 2012, the group officially pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda which attracted US counter-terrorism measures in Somalia.

One day after Conrad’s death, the Al-Shabaab group conducted a suicide attack at a military base in southern Somalia, killing seven Somali soldiers. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on their open source networks, but claimed that they killed 40 military personnel.

Somalia continues to endure a fragile security and governance situation on the ground, amid the ongoing threat of political violence in the country.