U.S. airstrikes hit al-Shabab rebels in Somalia, killing 62

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The U.S. military said on Monday it had killed 62 al-Shabab militants in six airstrikes on Saturday and Sunday in the vicinity of Gandarsh in Somalia's south-central Banaadir province.
In a statement issued on Monday, the U.S. military's Africa Command said it carried out four strikes on December 15 in which 34 people were killed. It carried out two further strikes on December 16 which killed 28 people. 
"Africa Command and our Somali partners conducted these airstrikes to prevent terrorists from using remote areas as a safe haven to plot, direct, inspire and recruit for future attacks," said the Africa Command. 
All six strikes were carried out in close coordination with Somalia's government, it said. According to the military, none of the casualties were civilians.
The U.S. military has carried out at least 46 airstrikes so far this year against al-Shabab, which is allied to al-Qaida and is Africa's most active Islamic extremist group.
U.S. airstrikes have picked up dramatically since President Donald Trump took office and approved expanded military operations in the Horn of Africa nation.
(Top image: A Somali security officer cordons off the area after a car bomb blast in Mogadishu, Somalia, December 16, 2018.

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