{"id":3450,"date":"2023-01-27T00:24:32","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T00:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=3450"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:54:10","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:54:10","slug":"us-forces-kill-is-official-in-somalia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/analysis\/defense\/terrorism\/us-forces-kill-is-official-in-somalia\/2023\/01\/27\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"US forces kill IS official in Somalia"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON<\/span> (AP)<\/span> –<\/span> U.S.<\/span> special<\/span> forces<\/span> have<\/span> killed<\/span> a<\/span> senior<\/span> Islamic<\/span> State<\/span> group<\/span> official<\/span> and<\/span> 10<\/span> other<\/span> terrorists<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> remote<\/span> area<\/span> of<\/span> \u200b\u200bnorthern<\/span> Somalia,<\/span> the<\/span> Biden<\/span> administration<\/span> said<\/span> on<\/span> Thursday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> operation,<\/span> carried<\/span> out<\/span> on<\/span> Wednesday,<\/span> targeted<\/span> Bilal<\/span> al-Sudani,<\/span> a<\/span> major<\/span> financial<\/span> broker<\/span> for<\/span> a<\/span> global<\/span> terrorist<\/span> organization,<\/span> at<\/span> a<\/span> mountain<\/span> cave<\/span> complex.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“This<\/span> action<\/span> makes<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> and<\/span> its<\/span> partners<\/span> safer<\/span> and<\/span> more<\/span> secure,<\/span> and<\/span> reflects<\/span> our<\/span> unwavering<\/span> commitment<\/span> to<\/span> protecting<\/span> Americans<\/span> from<\/span> domestic<\/span> and<\/span> international<\/span> terrorist<\/span> threats,”<\/span> Secretary<\/span> of<\/span> Defense<\/span> Lloyd<\/span> Austin<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> statement.<\/span> .<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>President<\/span> Joe<\/span> Biden<\/span> was<\/span> briefed<\/span> last<\/span> week<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> proposed<\/span> mission<\/span> after<\/span> months<\/span> of<\/span> planning.<\/span> He<\/span> gave<\/span> final<\/span> approval<\/span> to<\/span> conduct<\/span> the<\/span> operation<\/span> this<\/span> week,<\/span> based<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> recommendations<\/span> of<\/span> Austin<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> Chairman<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Joint<\/span> Chiefs<\/span> of<\/span> Staff,<\/span> General<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Army.<\/span> Mark<\/span> Milley,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> two<\/span> senior<\/span> Biden<\/span> administration<\/span> officials<\/span> who<\/span> briefed<\/span> reporters<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> operation<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> condition<\/span> of<\/span> anonymity.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Al-Sudani,<\/span> who<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> radar<\/span> for<\/span> U.S.<\/span> intelligence<\/span> officials<\/span> for<\/span> years,<\/span> played<\/span> a<\/span> key<\/span> role<\/span> in<\/span> helping<\/span> to<\/span> fund<\/span> IS<\/span> operations<\/span> in<\/span> Africa<\/span> as<\/span> well<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> ISIS-K<\/span> terrorist<\/span> branch<\/span> operating<\/span> in<\/span> Afghanistan,<\/span> Austin<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> U.S.<\/span> Treasury<\/span> Department<\/span> alleged<\/span> last<\/span> year<\/span> that<\/span> al-Sudani<\/span> had<\/span> worked<\/span> closely<\/span> with<\/span> another<\/span> IS<\/span> operative,<\/span> Abdella<\/span> Hussein<\/span> Abadigga,<\/span> who<\/span> had<\/span> recruited<\/span> young<\/span> men<\/span> in<\/span> South<\/span> Africa<\/span> and<\/span> sent<\/span> them<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> weapons<\/span> training<\/span> camp.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Abadigga,<\/span> who<\/span> controlled<\/span> two<\/span> mosques<\/span> in<\/span> South<\/span> Africa,<\/span> used<\/span> his<\/span> position<\/span> to<\/span> extort<\/span> money<\/span> from<\/span> members<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> mosques.<\/span> Al-Sudani<\/span> considered<\/span> Abadigga<\/span> a<\/span> trusted<\/span> supporter<\/span> who<\/span> could<\/span> help<\/span> the<\/span> IS<\/span> supporters<\/span> in<\/span> South<\/span> Africa<\/span> become<\/span> better<\/span> organized<\/span> and<\/span> recruit<\/span> new<\/span> members,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> Treasury..<\/span> Al-Sudani<\/span> was<\/span> originally<\/span> appointed<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Ministry<\/span> of<\/span> Finance<\/span> in<\/span> 2012<\/span> for<\/span> a<\/span> role<\/span> in<\/span> Al-Shabaab,<\/span> another<\/span> terrorist<\/span> organization<\/span> operating<\/span> in<\/span> Somalia.<\/span> According<\/span> to<\/span> senior<\/span> government<\/span> officials,<\/span> he<\/span> helped<\/span> foreign<\/span> fighters<\/span> go<\/span> to<\/span> al-Shabaab<\/span> training<\/span> camps<\/span> and<\/span> facilitated<\/span> funding<\/span> for<\/span> violent<\/span> extremists<\/span> in<\/span> Somalia.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Pentagon<\/span> officials<\/span> said<\/span> no<\/span> civilians<\/span> were<\/span> injured<\/span> or<\/span> killed<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> operation.<\/span> An<\/span> American<\/span> involved<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> operation<\/span> was<\/span> bitten<\/span> by<\/span> a<\/span> military<\/span> dog,<\/span> but<\/span> was<\/span> not<\/span> seriously<\/span> injured,<\/span> officials<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>U.S.<\/span> officials<\/span> provided<\/span> scant<\/span> details<\/span> about<\/span> how<\/span> the<\/span> operation<\/span> took<\/span> place<\/span> or<\/span> the<\/span> circumstances<\/span> surrounding<\/span> al-Sudani’s<\/span> assassination.<\/span> Officials<\/span> said<\/span> US<\/span> forces<\/span> had<\/span> intended<\/span> to<\/span> capture<\/span> al-Sudani,<\/span> but<\/span> that<\/span> proved<\/span> impracticable<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> operation<\/span> progressed.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> operation<\/span> comes<\/span> days<\/span> after<\/span> Afrika<\/span> Command<\/span> announced<\/span> it<\/span> had<\/span> launched<\/span> a<\/span> collective<\/span> self-defense<\/span> offensive<\/span> northeast<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> capital<\/span> Mogadishu<\/span> near<\/span> Garqad.<\/span> The<\/span> incident<\/span> saw<\/span> the<\/span> Somali<\/span> National<\/span> Army<\/span> embroiled<\/span> in<\/span> heavy<\/span> fighting<\/span> after<\/span> a<\/span> widespread<\/span> and<\/span> violent<\/span> attack<\/span> by<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 100<\/span> al-Shabaab<\/span> militants.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> US<\/span> estimates<\/span> that<\/span> about<\/span> 30<\/span> al-Shabaab<\/span> militants<\/span> were<\/span> killed<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> operation.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Somali<\/span> military<\/span> offensive<\/span> against<\/span> al-Shabab<\/span> is<\/span> said<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> the<\/span> most<\/span> significant<\/span> in<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> a<\/span> decade.<\/span> Al-Shabab<\/span> has<\/span> a<\/span> much<\/span> bigger<\/span> presence<\/span> in<\/span> Somalia<\/span> than<\/span> IS.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. special forces have killed a senior Islamic State group official and 10 other terrorists in a remote area of \u200b\u200bnorthern Somalia, the Biden administration said on Thursday. The operation, carried out on Wednesday, targeted Bilal al-Sudani, a major financial broker for a global terrorist organization, at a mountain cave complex. “This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[252,779,2418],"tags":[77,451,892,893,894,895,896],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/somal.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3450"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3453,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3450\/revisions\/3453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}