Trump Directs Airstrikes Against Somalian ISIS Targets
Trump has vowed to eradicate threats to US security and acknowledged targeted airstrikes on ISIS planners in Somalia.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump gave the military orders to launch airstrikes against targets in Somalia that are part of the Islamic State group.
Trump stated on Truth Social that he had directed precision military airstrikes against the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he had recruited and guided in Somalia this morning.
The strikes, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, were directed against IS-Somalia agents in the semi-autonomous Puntland region’s Golis mountains.
In a statement, Hegseth stated, “Our preliminary assessment is that multiple operatives were killed in the airstrikes and no civilians were harmed.”
“This action sends a clear signal that the United States is always ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies, further undermining ISIS’s ability to plan and carry out terrorist attacks that threaten innocent civilians, our partners, and US citizens.”
Compared to Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab, Islamic State is comparatively weak in Somalia, but analysts have warned of increasing activity.
“‘WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!'” is the statement sent to ISIS and any other potential attackers of Americans. Trump stated in his post.
In 2023, former President Joe Biden ordered US Special Forces to strike a mountain cave complex in a remote area of northern Somalia, killing a key ISIS leader and ten other extremists.
