US Forces Kill Top ISIL leader In Somalia

The US military has carried out an operation in northern Somalia, resulting in the death of a top ISIL (ISIS) leader.

According to a statement released on Thursday by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Bilal al-Sudani, a US-designated ISIL leader in Somalia and “important facilitator for ISIS’s global network,” was killed in the operation.

The operation was approved earlier this week by President Joe Biden and will be carried out on January 25.

“Al-Sudani was responsible for fostering the growing presence of ISIS in Africa and for funding the group’s operations worldwide, including in Afghanistan,” Austin said.

There were no other details about the operation given, including how the US forces carried out the operation or even how many American soldiers were involved. US officials told Reuters news agency anonymously that 10 of al-Sudani’s associates were also killed in the operation.

The US Department of Treasury sanctioned al-Sudani in 2012 for his role in arranging funding for foreign fighters to travel to an al-Shabab training camp.

A Somali government offensive against al-Shabab, which began in August 2022 following Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s election, has also made substantial gains.

However, the organization, which has been seeking to destabilize Somalia’s government and enforce its strict version of Islamic law since 2007, has retaliated with a series of strikes around the country.