Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
American military forces killed a key ISIS facilitator and about 10 ISIS operatives in a Wednesday night raid in Somalia, senior administration officials said Thursday. No Americans were killed in the raid, officials said. The key target was Bilal al-Sudani, who had been expanding the terror group’s footprint in Africa.
“The U.S. military conducted a successful counterterrorism operation in Somalia,” U.S. Africa Command said in a Thursday evening statement. “Additional details will be provided in the coming days.
“Given the remote location of the operation, the assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed,” officials noted. “Protecting civilians remains a vital part of the command’s operations to promote greater security for all Africans.”
There were no American casualties, a Defense Department official confirmed to Soldier of Fortune.
Al-Sudani was “responsible for fostering the growing presence of ISIS in Africa and for funding the group’s operations worldwide, including in Afghanistan,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
“This action leaves the United States and its partners safer and more secure, and it reflects our steadfast commitment to protecting Americans from the threat of terrorism at home and abroad,” Austin said. “We are grateful to our extraordinary service members as well as our intelligence community and other interagency partners for their support to this successful counterterrorism operation.”
“”Additional details will be provided in the coming days,” according to U.S. Africa Command.
