Trump orders precision airstrike on ISIS headquarters in Somalia

On Saturday, February 1st, President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered targeted airstrikes against senior ISIS terrorists in Somalia. The operation, as announced on the “Truth Social” platform, was aimed at a key ISIS attack planner and other terrorists recruited and led by him in Somalia.

“This morning, I ordered a precise military strike against this senior ISIS attack planner and other terrorists recruited and led by him in Somalia,” stated Trump, ensuring no civilian casualties resulted from the operation.

“These killers were hiding in caves, posing a threat to the United States and its allies,” he said. “The airstrike destroyed their hiding caves, eliminating many terrorists without harming any civilians.”

Trump emphasized that the attack targeted a long-standing vital objective of the U.S. military, noting that the ISIS attack planner had been pursued by American forces for years.

He further stated, “To ISIS and anyone attempting to attack the United States, our message is: ‘We will find you and eliminate you!'”

Last October, Michael Langley, the commander of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), told Voice of America that the size of the ISIS organization in Somalia had doubled in the past year. Previously estimating about 200 ISIS militants in northern Somalia.

The AFRICOM commander further warned that ISIS might increase its foreign fighters in Somalia.

An American official had earlier indicated in June that an airstrike in May targeting ISIS leader Abdulqadir Mumin in Somalia seemed to have left him alive.

Before Trump took office on January 20th, a senior Hamas official informed Agence France-Presse on January 5th about preparations to release 34 Israeli hostages as part of a potential prisoner exchange agreement’s “first phase.”