US increasing the pressure on Al-Shabaab in Somalia

July 25, 2015 17:46

The Pentagon has quietly expanded its military operations in Somalia against Al-Shabaab militants in recent weeks.

US drone strikes are now part of a larger U.S. military strategy to provide direct military support to African peacekeepers -- mainly Kenyans -- under attack from Al-Shabaab, two US defense officials told CNN.

Drones, armed with Hellfire missiles, have been flying from a U.S. military site in Djibouti on the strike missions. Other drones conducting intelligence-gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance have been operating out of Ethiopia, according to one of the officials.

The missions are specifically targeting militants in the field who are directly attacking or threatening African Union Mission in Somalia peacekeepers.

AMISOM is staffed by troops from nearly a dozen countries, but the bulk come from Kenya and Ethiopia on a regular basis.

Until now, most US military actions in Somalia have focused on airstrikes or raids by special operations forces aimed at capturing or killing specific individuals linked to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups in the region.

But in June, Al-Shabaab militants attacked and overran a peacekeeper base in southern Somalia. A spokesperson for the terror group claimed at the time that the group killed 50 soldiers.

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