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U.S. Special Operations member killed in Somalia terror raid, Pentagon says

2 American advisers were also injured in the attack west of Mogadishu.






Doug Stanglin, USATODAY Published 8:48 a.m. ET May 5, 2017 | Updated 3:37 p.m. ET May 5, 2017 Officials say the service member was killed during an operation against extremist group al-Shabab. Video provided by Newsy Newslook A Somali soldier walks near the wreckage of a car bomb blast near Aden Abdule international airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, on April, 16, 2017. The country on the Horn of Africa has been wracked by instability for almost two decades.(Photo: Farah Abdi Warsameh, AP)


AÂ U.S. service member has been killed in Somalia in anÂ operation against the militant group al-Shabab, the U.S. military said Friday.

TheÂ U.S. Africa Command saidÂ the service member was killed ThursdayÂ by small arms fire near Barii, about 40 miles west of the capital, Mogadishu.Â The statement says U.S. forces were conducting an advise-and-assist mission with Somaliaâs military.

The U.S. special operations troops came under fire after U.S. aircraft delivered Somali forces to the target area, a Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, told reporters. He said the U.S. troops were âa distance backâ from the compound which had been âassociated with some attacks on facilities that we use and that our Somali partners use nearby.â

A Somali intelligence official said U.S. forces killed at least six people during the raid on a building housing the al-Shabab extremist groupâs Andalus radio station at a farm near Dare Salaam village, according to the Associated Press. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the dead included al-Shabab journalists.

Al-Shabab via its Shahada News Agency said âan air landing operation by U.S. special forces was thwarted in Lower Shabelle province and a number of their soldiers were killed and wounded,â the SITE Intelligence Group reported.


President Trump recently approved an order that expanded U.S. authorityÂ in Somalia, allowing U.S. aircraft to attack militants during offensive operations without presidential approval. Previously, the Pentagon generally had the authority to launch attacks only in emergency situations to defend its forces.

Africa Command officials said Thursday's attack was not related to the new rules.Â "The expanded authorities were not applicable to this situation," said Patrick Barnes, a Africa Command spokesman.

It was the first American combat death in Somalia since the early 1990s when the U.S. intervened in the country in an effort to tamp down sectarian warfare and relieve a growing humanitarian disaster afterÂ the fall of dictator Siad Barre in 1991.

The intervention became a symbol of the perils of U.S. interventionsÂ when two helicopters were downed inÂ Mogadishu and the bodies ofÂ American service members wereÂ dragged through the streets. The images were broadcast worldwide and the U.S. withdrew its combat forces from the country. 

The U.S. Africa Command statement saidÂ the U.S. militaryÂ is supporting Somalia and its regional partnersÂ "to systematically dismantle this al-Qaeda affiliate, and help them to achieve stability and security throughout the region as part of the global counterterrorism effort."

Contributing: Jim Michaels; the Associated Press

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