Somalia's president vows to defeat international terror groups

MOGADISHU, Somalia

Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has vowed to defeat international terrorist groups in the Horn of Africa country.

He emphasized the need to enhance health service infrastructure to provide treatment for the soldiers injured in the fight against the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab and the ISIS (Daesh) terror group.

Speaking at the opening of the new Hospital Hodan in the capital Mogadishu on Monday, he also commended the latest US precision strike against ISIS in the country’s northern semiautonomous state of Puntland and reaffirmed “strong partnership between Somalia and the United States in the fight against terrorism.”

He said the bold action by the Trump administration demonstrates the shared resolve to eliminate threats to peace and ensure that Somalia remains free of terrorist safe havens.

The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) on Monday said that it had conducted an airstrike in Somalia targeting ISIS terrorists last week, killing two terrorists. It was the third US air raid in Somalia in less than two months.

Security forces have been conducting operations against the terrorist group for more than a month, liberating large areas from its control.

More than 30 ISIS terrorists were killed in new airstrikes in the northern Puntland province of Bari last Wednesday, according to security officials.

The strikes targeted the ISIS positions in the Almiskaad mountains of the Bari region.

Somalia has been plagued by insecurity for years, with the main threats emanating from the terror groups al-Shabaab and ISIS.

Since 2007, al-Shabaab has been fighting the Somali government and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS)—a multidimensional mission authorized by the African Union and mandated by the UN Security Council.

The terrorist group has stepped up attacks since Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared an "all-out war" on it.