MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - The Latest on the death of a U.S. service member in Somalia (all times local):
___
11:55 p.m.
The deputy governor of the Somalia region where a U.S. military service member was killed during an operation against al-Shabab says one goal of the raid was to “surgically target” senior members of the extremist group hiding in the area.
Omar Mohamud Elmi says Thursday night’s operation by Somali and U.S. forces in Lower Shabelle region killed many al-Shabab fighters, but he did not specify whether the dead included any senior members.
The official acknowledged “casualties on our side” but said the extremist group lost far more people.
The death of the U.S. service member was the first such combat death in Somalia since 1993.
___
7:40 p.m.
A Pentagon spokesman says a U.S. service member was killed in Somalia when U.S. special operations troops came under fire while supporting Somalia’s army in an operation against the al-Shabab extremist group.
Navy Capt. Jeff Davis says U.S. aircraft delivered Somali forces to the target area, and the U.S. troops were “a distance back” from the compound when the attack began.
Davis says the al-Shabab compound targeted in Thursday’s raid “had been associated with some attacks on facilities that we use and that our Somali partners use nearby.”
He says U.S. forces have been working with the Somali National Army to counter al-Shabab since 2013 with the goal of “degrading this al-Qaida affiliate’s ability to recruit, train and plot external terror attacks throughout the region and the United States.”
The U.S. death was the first one in combat in Somalia since 1993.
___
7:05 p.m.
A Somali intelligence official says U.S. forces killed at least six people during a raid on a building housing the al-Shabab extremist group’s Andalus radio station Thursday night outside the capital, Mogadishu.
The official says the dead in the attack on a farm near Dare Salaam village included al-Shabab journalists.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The U.S. military says one service member was killed and two others wounded. It was the first U.S. combat death in Somalia since 1993 as the Trump administration steps up efforts against al-Shabab.
- Abdi Guled in Mogadishu
___
6:35 p.m.
The Pentagon says two other U.S. service members were wounded in Somalia during an operation against the al-Shabab extremist group that killed one service member.
The death was the first in combat of a U.S. military member in Somalia since 1993. That’s when the U.S. pulled out of Somalia over the “Black Hawk Down” incident when two helicopters were shot down in Mogadishu and bodies of Americans were dragged through the streets.
The U.S. has been stepping up its military efforts against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab in Somalia.
___
5:05 p.m.
A U.S. military spokesman says the death of a U.S. service member in Somalia appears to be the first such death in combat in that country in more than two decades.
U.S. Africa Command spokesman Patrick Barnes says that “we do not believe there has been a case where a U.S. service member has been killed in combat action in Somalia since the incident there in 1993.”
The United States pulled out of Somalia after 1993, when two helicopters were shot down in Mogadishu and bodies of Americans were dragged through the streets.
Thursday’s death came during an operation against the al-Shabab extremist group.
President Donald Trump recently approved expanded military operations in Somalia against al-Shabab, including more aggressive airstrikes and considering parts of southern Somalia areas of active hostilities.
___
3: 30 p.m.
The U.S. military says a service member has been killed in Somalia during an operation against the extremist group al-Shabab.
A statement Friday from the U.S. Africa Command says the service member was killed Thursday during the operation near Barii, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of the capital, Mogadishu.
The statement says U.S. forces were conducting an advise-and-assist mission with Somalia’s military.
Both the United States and Somalia in recent weeks have stepped up efforts against the al-Qaida-linked extremist group. President Donald Trump has approved expanded military operations against al-Shabab there.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.