The slain terrorist was responsible for fostering ISIS’s growing presence in Africa and financing the group’s operations around the world.
Special forces of the US army carried out an assault operation in Somalia on January 25, in which a leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) for its acronym in English was killed.
As reported by the Department of Defense, the operation carried out in the north of the African country caused the death of Bilal-al-Sudani, leader of ISIS in Somalia and key facilitator of the ISIS global network.
“On January 25, on orders from the President, the US military carried out a raiding operation in northern Somalia that resulted in the deaths of several ISIS members, including Bilal-al-Sudani, the ISIS leader in Somalia and a key facilitator of the global ISIS network,” the Department of Defense reported in a statement.
I’m grateful to our extraordinary service members & our intel & interagency partners for their support to this successful CT operation. (1/2) https://t.co/gCxQcoFPm0
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) January 26, 2023
According to US authorities, Al-Sudani was responsible for fostering ISIS’s growing presence in Africa and financing the group’s operations around the world, including Afghanistan.
The Department of Defense notes that no civilians were injured as a result of this operation and thanked its service members, as well as its intelligence community and other interagency partners, for their support of this successful counterterrorism operation.
US cooperation in Somalia
The United States Command in Africa also confirmed the operation and insisted that no civilian casualties have been reported so far.
“Given the remote location of the operation, the assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed. The protection of civilians remains an essential part of the command’s operations to promote greater security for all Africans,” the US Africa Command reported.
The U.S. military conducted a successful counterterrorism operation in Somalia. https://t.co/F6MCDYLqwP pic.twitter.com/HHIW8VC3nZ
— US AFRICOM (@USAfricaCommand) January 26, 2023
This army command stressed that the United States is one of several countries supporting the Federal Government of Somalia in its ongoing campaign to disrupt, demote and defeat terrorist groups.
US Command forces in Africa train, advise and equip partner forces to help equip them with the tools they need to defeat al-Shabaab, the world’s largest and deadliest al-Qaeda network.