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US Military Launches Airstrike Against Al-Shabab in Somalia

Rescuers, security, and paramedics are seen at the scene of a car explosion near Banadir hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Feisal Omar
Rescuers, security, and paramedics are seen at the scene of a car explosion near Banadir hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Feisal Omar
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US Military Launches Airstrike Against Al-Shabab in Somalia

Rescuers, security, and paramedics are seen at the scene of a car explosion near Banadir hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Feisal Omar
Rescuers, security, and paramedics are seen at the scene of a car explosion near Banadir hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

The US military conducted an airstrike against Al-Shabab militants on Tuesday, the first since President Joe Biden took office on Jan. 20, the Pentagon said.

The US military command for Africa (AFRICOM), in coordination with the Somali government, “conducted one airstrike in the vicinity of Galkayo, Somalia against Al-Shabab,” Pentagon spokeswoman Cindi King told AFP.

“There were no US forces accompanying Somali forces during this operation,” King said. “US forces were conducting a remote advice-and-assist mission in support of designated Somali partner forces.”

Under orders from former president Donald Trump, most of the 700 American troops based in Somalia to advise and assist Somali military and counterterrorism forces were withdrawn in the waning weeks of his administration.

The Somali army announced that 50 Al-Shabab members were killed in separate military operations in Somalia.

At least 15 Al-Shabab militants were killed Tuesday and several others injured in a special operation in lower Jubba region by Somalia’s elite forces, Danab Division. Somali National Army’s Commandos Division, Danab also destroyed terrorist hideouts.

The army is committed to eliminating the militant threat and presence in the country.

In another operation, the Somali National Army on Monday killed 35 militants and injured others at Qaycad area near Ba’adweyn town in Mudug region, according to SNA Infantry Commander Mohamed Tahlil Bihi.

Al-Shabab's campaign of bombings and gun attacks has targeted Somali military bases and civilian infrastructure including hotels, bars and schools in both Somalia and other regional countries.

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Türkiye Presses PKK to Disarm ‘Immediately’

An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
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Türkiye Presses PKK to Disarm ‘Immediately’

An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)

Türkiye on Thursday insisted the PKK and all groups allied with it must disarm and disband "immediately", a week after a historic call by the Kurdish militant group's jailed founder.

"The PKK and all groups affiliated with it must end all terrorist activities, dissolve and immediately and unconditionally lay down their weapons," a Turkish defense ministry source said.

The remarks made clear the demand referred to all manifestations of Abdullah Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has led a four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state, costing tens of thousands of lives.

Although the insurgency targeted Türkiye, the PKK's leadership is based in the mountains of northern Iraq and its fighters are also part of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key force in northeastern Syria.

Last week, Ocalan made a historic call urging the PKK to dissolve and his fighters to disarm, with the group on Saturday accepting his call and declaring a ceasefire.

The same day, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that if the promises were not kept, Turkish forces would continue their anti-PKK operations.

"If the promises given are not kept and an attempt is made to delay... or deceive... we will continue our ongoing operations... until we eliminate the last terrorist," he said.

- Resonance in Syria, Iraq -

Since 2016, Türkiye has carried out three major military operations in northern Syria targeting PKK militants, which it sees as a strategic threat along its southern border.

Ankara has made clear it wants to see all PKK fighters disarmed wherever they are -- notably those in the US-backed SDF, which it sees as part of the PKK.

The SDF -- the bulk of which is made up of the Kurdish YPG -- spearheaded the fight that ousted ISIS extremists from Syria in 2019, and is seen by much of the West as crucial to preventing an extremist resurgence.

Last week, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi welcomed Ocalan's call for the PKK to lay down its weapons but said it "does not concern our forces" in northeastern Syria.

But Türkiye disagrees.

Since the toppling of Syria's Bashar al-Assad in December, Ankara has threatened military action unless YPG militants are expelled, deeming them to be a regional security problem.

"Our fundamental approach is that all terrorist organizations should disarm and be dissolved in Iraq and Syria, whether they are called the PKK, the YPG or the SDF," Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan's ruling AKP, said on Monday.

Ocalan's call also affects Iraq, with the PKK leadership holed up in the mountainous north where Turkish forces have staged multiple air strikes in recent years.

Turkish forces have also established numerous bases there, souring Ankara's relationship with Baghdad.

"We don't want either the PKK or the Turkish army on our land... Iraq wants everyone to withdraw," Iraq's national security adviser Qassem al-Araji told AFP.

"Turkish forces are (in Iraq) because of the PKK's presence," he said, while pointing out that Türkiye had "said more than once that it has no territorial ambitions in Iraq".