*WASHINGTON: An American special operations soldier was killed Friday in anattack in southern Somalia that also wounded four US military personnelalong with a Somali soldier, a US defense official told AFP.*
The official did not immediately know who had carried out the attack, butthe US is supporting Somali partners as they target Islamic Al-Qaedamilitants aligned with the Shabaab group.
“There was an attack in Jubaland, Somalia and it resulted in one US killed,four US wounded and one partner wounded,” the official said.
American forces under the US military´s Africa Command are partnering withAfrican Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali national securityforces in counterterrorism operations, and have conducted frequent raidsand drone strikes on Shabaab training camps throughout Somalia.
Last year, a member of the Navy SEALs was killed in a nighttime attack inSomalia, marking the first US military combat death there since theinfamous events of “Black Hawk Down” in 1993, when 18 American servicemendied in what is called the Battle of Mogadishu.
Since 2007, Al-Shabaab has been fighting to overthrow the internationallybacked government in Somalia. – APP/AFP