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US drone strikes kill 6 in Somalia

September 14, 2017 at 1:06 pm

File photo of a US drone [Air ForcePhoto / Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt]

The United States blasted three separate drone attacks in southern Somalia yesterday, killing six, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported.

The precision drone strikes were executed at 02:15 local time, attacking an area south of the capital Mogadishu. The drone strikes killed six Al-Shabaab members.

“The operation occurred in southern Somalia, about 260 kilometres south of the capital, Mogadishu,” US African Command statement said.

US drone strikes in Somalia have killed ten people in the country this month. President Donald Trump introduced new legal codes in March which made way for parts of Somalia to be considered “temporary battlefields”, allowing the military to attack at free-will without congressional approval for six-months at a time.

There have been no confirmed reports of civilian casualties in the attack.

Read More: US drone strike kills Al-Shabaab fighter in Somalia

In Somalia alone, there have been 56 confirmed strikes and 503 people reportedly killed according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, an organisation which monitors US strikes.

The armed group Al-Shabaab are affiliated with Al-Qaeda, and seek to overthrow the government to implement a strict interpretation of Islamic law.