U.S. forces conducted an airstrike against al-Shabab in Somalia on Thursday, killing "several militants," according to the U.S. military.
The drone strike hit targets in the Bay Region of Somalia, about 160 kilometers west of the capital, Mogadishu, Pentagon spokeswoman Audricia Harris told VOA.
No civilians were killed in the strike, Harris said.
According to a statement from U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), the strike occurred about 3 p.m. local time in Somalia in coordination with the Somali government.
"U.S. forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect Americans and to disable terrorist threats," Africa Command said.
The strike comes less than a week after U.S. airstrikes targeted Islamic State (IS) fighters in the country's north.
Jama Mohamed Qurshe, the chairman of the town of Qandala, told VOA Somali that the U.S. strikes last Friday hit a base for IS militants at Buqa village, about 60 kilometers south of his town, in the semiautonomous region of Puntland.
A U.S. Africa Command official told VOA those two strikes killed "fewer than five" Islamic State fighters. They were the first U.S. airstrikes against IS militants in Somalia.
美国军方说，美军星期四对索马里的“青年党”进行了一次空袭，打死“几名激进分子”。
五角大楼发言人奥德丽西娅·哈里斯对美国之音说，这次无人机袭击击中了首都摩加迪沙以西大约160公里的拜州地区的目标。
哈里斯说，袭击没有打死任何平民。
美国非洲司令部发表声明说，袭击发生在当地时间大约下午3点，美军与索马里政府进行了协调。
非洲司令部说：“美军将继续使用所有被授权的恰当措施来保护美国人并解除恐怖主义威胁。”
在这次袭击的不到一个星期前，美军空袭了索马里北部的“伊斯兰国”武装分子。
坎达拉镇的负责人嘉玛·默罕默德·丘尔舎星期五告诉美国之音索马里组说，美军上星期五的袭击目标是坎达拉镇以南大约60公里的巴卡村“伊斯兰国”激进分子根据地。当地位于半自治的庞特兰地区。
美国非洲司令部的一名官员对美国之音说，这两次袭击打死了 “不到五名”伊斯兰国武装分子。这是美国首次空袭索马里境内的伊斯兰国激进分子。