(Somali Defense Minister Abdulhakim Mohamoud Haji Faqi)
US military forces landed in Somalia to retrieve the bodies of dead or wounded militants after a US drone strike targeted a group of insurgents, Somalia’s defense minister said yesterday.
The operation is at least the second time US troops have landed in Somalia after a targeted strike, though no forces have been stationed there since shortly after the “Black Hawk Down’’ battle that left 18 Americans dead in 1993.
Defense Minister Abdulhakim Mohamoud Haji Faqi called on the United States to carry out more airstrikes against the Al Qaeda-linked militants, though he admitted that it appeared that Somali officials were not informed before the June 23 operation near the southern coastal town of Kismayo.
“But we are not complaining about that. Absolutely not. We welcome it,’’ Faqi said. “We understand the US’s need to quickly act on its intelligence on the ground,’’ he said. “We urge the US to continue its strikes against Al Shabab because if it keeps those strikes up, it will be easier for us to defeat Al Shabab.’’
US officials have increased their warnings that the threat from Somalia’s Al Shabab militant group is growing and that militants are developing stronger ties with the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
AP
U.S. Air Force MQ-9
