US says air strike kills over 100 militants in Somalia

The USmilitary said it killed more than100Islamistmilitantsin Somaliaon Tuesday when it launched anairstrikeagainst al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked insurgent group that wants to topple the UN-backed government.

The military's Africa Command said thestrikewas carried out on a camp 125 miles (201 km) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu and that the United States would continue to targetmilitants.

Thestrikewas done in coordination withSomalia's federal government, the Pentagon said.

USairstrikes killing such a large number ofmilitantsinSomaliaare rare, but not unprecedented. In March 2016, a USair strikekilled more than 150 al Shabaab fighters inSomalia.

Somalia's state news agency SONNA reported late on Tuesday that "about100militants" were killed when USplanes and Somali commandos attacked al Shabaab bases in the Bur Elay area of Bay region.

Al Shabaab spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab denied the attack. "It is just... propaganda," he told Reuters inSomalia.

Al Shabaab is fighting to toppleSomalia’s Western-backed transitional federal government and impose its own rule on the Horn of Africa country.

Earlier this month, the USwarned of a threat to its diplomatic staff in Mogadishu and directed all non-essential staff to leave the capital.

Al Shabaab has lost control of most ofSomalia’s cities and towns since it was pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011. But it retains a strong presence in parts of the south and center and carries out gun and bomb attacks.

"Al-Shabaab has publicly committed to planning and conducting attacks against the USand our partners in the region," the USmilitary statement said.

Al Shabaab aims to toppleSomalia's government, drive out African Union peacekeeping troops and impose its own harsh interpretation of Islamic law.

Earlier this month, the USmilitary also carried out its firststrikes against Islamic Statemilitants inSomaliaand said it killed "several terrorists."