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Pentagon: US Forces Destroy 2 Terrorist Camps in Southern Somalia


Somali women chant slogans and hold placards written in Somali "No more Explosions" and "Silly criminal is Dangerous" as they protest against Somali Islamist group Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu on Jan. 2, 2020.
Somali women chant slogans and hold placards written in Somali "No more Explosions" and "Silly criminal is Dangerous" as they protest against Somali Islamist group Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu on Jan. 2, 2020.

U.S. forces destroyed two al-Shabab compounds and killed at least one terrorist in a military operation in southern Somalia last month, the Pentagon announced Monday.

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) carried out the attacks in coordination with Somali forces. The two compounds — one in Jamaame and the other in Jilib — were destroyed.

AFRICOM said it took "significant measures" to ensure no civilians were killed or wounded.

"We assess these compounds were used by al-Shabab militants to organize and plan violent terrorist actions against innocent Somali civilians," said Brig. Gen. Gregory Hadfield, AFRICOM deputy director of intelligence. "Operations to disrupt al-Shabab are needed to deny their ability to expand terrorism outside of Somalia, as we've recently seen in Kenya."

Al-Shabab terrorists attacked a military base in Kenya last month, killing a U.S. soldier and two civilian contractors.

Al-Shabab has been fighting for more than 10 years to set up a strict Islamic state in Somalia. It frequently carries out attacks in neighboring Kenya to retaliate for Kenyan forces entering Somalia in response to cross-border attacks.

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