WASHINGTON — The Task Force killed a senior Islamic State leader in a helicopter raid in a remote part of Somalia on Thursday, US officials said.
An official spoke on condition of anonymity identified the man as Bilal al-Sudani, an Islamic State leader active in Somalia.
The US Africa Command said in a press release that the US military had “conducted a successful counterterrorism operation in Somalia.”
Biden administration officials say no civilians were injured or killed in the raid. They also said that none of the American soldiers involved were injured, although one was bitten by a dog they were carrying.
In a statement on Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said al-Sudani was “responsible for fueling ISIS’s growing presence in Africa and funding the group’s activities across the continent.” around the world, including in Afghanistan.”
On a call with reporters on Thursday afternoon, a senior administration official described al-Sudani as “the main operator and supporter of ISIS’s global network.” The official said that the agent was killed along with 10 other associates of the Islamic State of Sudan.
The raid took place in a remote mountain cave complex in northern Somalia.
The official said that Special Operations troops were preparing to arrest Al-Sudani but the reaction from his associates when US troops arrived at their cave complex “resulted in his death”. his”.
Somalia is known more as a harbor for Al Shabab, the terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda, than the Islamic State. But Islamic State attacks have increased across Africa.
