US Airstrike Kills 4 al-Shabab         12/09 11:28

   JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- The U.S. military says it has killed four members of 
the al-Shabab extremist group with a "self-defense airstrike" outside Somalia's 
capital after partner forces were attacked.

   The U.S. Africa Command statement says the airstrike occurred on Saturday 
near Basra, a community outside the capital, Mogadishu. The statement says no 
civilians were involved.

   The U.S. military has carried out 39 airstrikes this year against the 
al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, Africa's most active Islamic extremist group, which 
controls parts of rural southern and central Somalia and continues to stage 
deadly attacks in Mogadishu and other cities.

   The U.S. airstrikes have picked up dramatically since President Donald Trump 
took office and approved expanded military operations in the Horn of Africa 
nation. Airstrikes also target a small presence of fighters linked to the 
Islamic State group.


(KA)