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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)
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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.

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Arab World

Israeli Troops, Palestinian Fighters Clash in West Bank after Incidents Near Settlements

Israeli troops move inside the Jenin refugee camp on the fourth day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 31 August 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Israeli troops move inside the Jenin refugee camp on the fourth day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 31 August 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
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Israeli Troops, Palestinian Fighters Clash in West Bank after Incidents Near Settlements

Israeli troops move inside the Jenin refugee camp on the fourth day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 31 August 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Israeli troops move inside the Jenin refugee camp on the fourth day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 31 August 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH

Clashes broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank on Saturday as Israel pushed ahead with a military operation in the flashpoint city of Jenin.
Israeli troops searched areas around Jewish settlements after two separate security incidents on Friday evening. In Jenin itself, drones and helicopters circled overhead while the sound of sporadic firing could be heard in the city, said Reuters.
Hundreds of Israeli troops have been carrying out raids since Wednesday in one of their largest actions in the West Bank in months.
The operation, which Israel says was mounted to block Iranian-backed militant groups from attacking its citizens, has drawn international calls for a halt.
At least 19 Palestinians, including armed fighters and civilians, have now been killed since it began. The Israeli military said on Saturday a soldier had been killed during the fighting in the West Bank.
The Israeli forces were battling Palestinian fighters from armed factions that have long had a strong presence in Jenin and the adjoining refugee camp, a densely populated township housing families driven from their homes in the 1948 Middle East war around the creation of Israel.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Saturday a child had been taken to hospital in Jenin with a bullet wound to the head.
The escalation in hostilities in the West Bank takes place as fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas group still rages in the coastal Gaza Strip nearly 11 months since it began, and hostilities with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in the Israel-Lebanon border area have intensified.
Late on Friday, Israeli forces said two men were killed in separate incidents near Gush Etzion, a large West Bank settlement cluster located south of Jerusalem, that the military assessed were both attempted attacks on Israelis.
In the first, a car exploded at a petrol station in what the army said was an attempted car bombing attack. The military said a man was shot dead after he got out of the car and tried to attack soldiers.
In the second incident, a man was killed after the military said a car attempted to ram a security guard and infiltrate the Karmei Tzur settlement. The car was chased by security forces and crashed and an explosive device in it was detonated, the military said in a statement.
The two deaths were confirmed by Palestinian health authorities but they gave no details on how they died.
Troops combed the area following the two incidents. Security forces also carried out raids in the city of Hebron, where the two men came from.
Hamas praised what it called a "double heroic operation" in the West Bank. It said in a statement it was "a clear message that resistance will remain striking, prolonged and sustained as long as the brutal occupation's aggression and targeting of our people and land continue".
The group, however, did not claim direct responsibility for the attacks.
Israeli army chief General Herzi Halevi said on Saturday Israel would step up defensive measures as well as offensive actions like the Jenin operation.
Amid the gunfire, armored bulldozers searching for roadside bombs have ploughed up large stretches of paved roads and water pipes have been damaged, leading to flooding in some areas.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel last October that triggered the Gaza war, at least 660 Palestinian combatants and civilians have been killed in the West Bank, according to Palestinian tallies, some by Israeli troops and some by Jewish settlers who have carried out frequent attacks on Palestinian communities.
Israel says Iran provides weapons and support to militant factions in the West Bank - under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Middle East war - and the military has as a result cranked up its operations there.