The United States military on Saturday conducted air strikes on Islamic State group targets in Somalia, President Donald Trump announced on Saturday (Feb 01).

Advertisment

"This morning I ordered precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia," Trump said on Truth Social.

Also read: Trump hints he and Putin could soon take 'decisive steps' to end Ukraine conflict

"These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies. The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians," he added.

Advertisment

"Our Military has targeted this ISIS Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did! The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that “WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!,” the US President warned.

Trump, however, did not share the identity of the ISIS planner, nor did he confirm whether that person was killed in the strike. 

Also read: 'Retire, resign or be fired': FBI agents who investigated Trump under the sword amid reports of mass firings

Advertisment

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday that the strikes by US Africa Command were directed by President Trump and coordinated with Somalia's government.

"Our initial assessment is that multiple operatives were killed in the airstrikes and no civilians were harmed," Hegseth added.

"This action further degrades ISIS's ability to plot and conduct terrorist attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians and sends a clear signal that the United States always stands ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies, even as we conduct robust border-protection and many other operations under President Trump's leadership," the statement from the defense secretary said.

The Pentagon's counterterrorism strategy in Africa has been strained as two key partners, Chad and Niger, ousted U.S. forces last year and took over key bases that the U.S. military had used to train and conduct missions against terrorist groups across the Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert.

As per the International Crisis Group, the number of ISIS militants in Somalia is likely to be in the hundreds, with most of them scattered in the Cal Miskaat mountains in Puntland's Bari region.

(With inputs from agencies)