US says airstrike in Somalia kills 27 al-Shabab extremists

MOGADISHU, Somalia – The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike in northern Somalia that killed 27 al-Shabab extremists.

The statement issued Monday by the U.S. Africa command said it assesses that no civilians were killed in the attack on Sunday about 26 miles southwest of Bosasso, the commercial capital of the semiautonomous Puntland state. The area has recently seen attacks on local forces by extremists aligned with the Islamic State group.

The Trump administration approved expanded military operations against extremists in Somalia, including al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaida and was blamed for the truck bombing in Mogadishu in October that killed more than 500 people.