US military says it kills 4 al-Shabab fighters in Somalia
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The U.S. military says it has killed four al-Shabab extremists in Somalia in what it calls airstrikes in self-defense.
A U.S. Africa Command statement on Tuesday says the extremists launched attacks on Somali troops and their U.S. advisers on Monday in a village near the port city of Kismayo.
The statement says Somali forces returned fire, killing several extremists, but the attack continued. The U.S. then conducted its strike, killing four fighters.
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U.S. forces have carried out several airstrikes in Somalia in recent years, killing many al-Shabab leaders.
The extremist group is now mostly active in rural regions but continues to launch lethal attacks in many parts of this Horn of Africa nation, including the capital.