US Launches Airstrike against Somali Al-Shabab

Soldiers patrol outside the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia. (AP)
Soldiers patrol outside the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia. (AP)
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US Launches Airstrike against Somali Al-Shabab

Soldiers patrol outside the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia. (AP)
Soldiers patrol outside the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia. (AP)

The US military announced an unspecified number of casualties following an airstrike against the extremist al-Shabab group.

The raid took place as the director of Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency made an unannounced trip tp Washington.

The United States military confirmed the new airstrike against al-Shabab.

The strike took place in Jilib town on Saturday in collaboration with the Somali federal government, according to a statement by the US Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, on Monday.

"The command's initial assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed," the statement said.

Avoiding civilian casualties remains a priority for the US military, it added.

The Somali National News Agency reported on Tuesday that the Somali army, in cooperation with international partners, carried out a military operation in Jilib leading to several casualties among al-Shabab and the destruction of their military equipment.

Meanwhile, Mahad Salad, director of Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency, made an unannounced visit to the US where he met officials from the Pentagon, CIA, and FBI to discuss security cooperation and combatting terrorism, revealed cabinet sources.

The state news agency reported that the Somali army continues to conduct military operations in cooperation with the popular resistance to defeated the al-Shabab group. These operations have led to the liberation of more than 80 cities and regions across the country.

Meanwhile, four Somali government soldiers were killed Monday in a roadside explosion in Mogadishu's Daynile district, the Ministry of Defense said.

The al-Shabab group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Brigadier General Abdullahi Ali Anod, the ministry's spokesperson, said three soldiers and an officer were killed.

This comes after a rare appearance of al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Omar Abu Ubaidah during the “Jihad in East Africa Conference”, which was attended by more than a hundred of the group’s leaders.

Al-Shabab media broadcast footage of the group leader during the eight-day conference.

Al-Shabab named Abu Ubaidah as the successor to Ahmed Abdi Godane, who was killed in a US strike in September 2014.

The US is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on Abu Ubaidah. The US Department of State designated him as a global terrorist in April 2015.



Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio and prevent the spread of the virus began on Saturday, Gaza's Health Ministry said, as Palestinians in both the Hamas-governed enclave and the occupied West Bank reeled from Israel's ongoing military offensives.

Children in Gaza began receiving vaccines, the health ministry told a news conference, a day before the large-scale vaccine rollout and planned pause in fighting agreed to by Israel and the UN World Health Organization. The WHO confirmed the larger campaign would begin Sunday.

“There must be a ceasefire so that the teams can reach everyone targeted by this campaign,” said Dr. Yousef Abu Al-Rish, deputy health minister, describing scenes of sewage running through crowded tent camps in Gaza.

Associated Press journalists saw about 10 infants receiving vaccine doses at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Israel is expected to pause some operations in Gaza on Sunday to allow health workers to administer vaccines to some 650,000 Palestinian children. Officials said the pause would last at least nine hours and is unrelated to ongoing cease-fire negotiations.

“We will vaccinate up to 10-year-olds and God willing we will be fine,” said Dr. Bassam Abu Ahmed, general coordinator of public health programs at Al-Quds University.

The vaccination campaign comes after the first polio case in 25 years in Gaza was discovered this month. Doctors concluded a 10-month-old had been partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus after not being vaccinated due to fighting.

Healthcare workers in Gaza have been warning of the potential for a polio outbreak for months. The humanitarian crisis has deepened during the war that broke out after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants.

Hours earlier, the Health Ministry said hospitals received 89 dead on Saturday, including 26 who died in an overnight Israeli bombardment, and 205 wounded — one of the highest daily tallies in months.