US military says airstrike kills 20 al-Shabab in Somalia

JOHANNESBURG – The United States military says it has killed 20 fighters from the al-Shabab extremist group with an airstrike in central Somalia, a day after another airstrike in the area killed 35.

The U.S. military command for the African continent says the attack occurred on Monday near Shebeeley in the Hiran region and targeted a training camp used as a staging area for attacks.

The U.S. has dramatically increased airstrikes against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, Africa’s deadliest extremist group, since President Donald Trump took office.

The U.S. has carried out 23 strikes this year.

Authorities and experts acknowledge that it will take more than airstrikes to defeat the extremist group, which holds large parts of rural central and southern Somalia and carries out deadly suicide attacks in the capital, Mogadishu.