East Africa War:US Special Operator Killed in Somalia Firefight

A member of the US Special Operations Forces was killed Friday and four others wounded when their position came under attack by al-Shabaab militants in Jubaland State,about 217 miles SW of the Somali capital Mogadishu.A Somali Soldier was also reportedly wounded in the mortar and small arms ambush by the Islamist extremists,who have formally been a unit of al-Qaida since 2012.US SOFs and about 800 Somali and Kenyan forces were on an operation to clear al-Shabaab from the area north of the port of Kismayo.US Army Green Berets,US Navy SEALs and US Marine Raiders are all active in the unstable nation in East Africa,serving in US Africa Command in an advise and assist capacity for the local forces.*
In October 2017,al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a VBIED attack that killed more than 500 people in Mogadishu;while in May 2017,another US Soldier was killed in an al-Shabaab attack about 40 miles west of Mogadishu.*
US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) reportedly has a fleet of armed Reaper drones in Somalia for self-defence airstrikes or assistance to East African nations;while the CIA has a covert base at Mogadishu airport,possibly sending up both armed and unarmed surveillance drones,not to mention deploying members of its ultra-secret Ground Branch paramilitary division.
JSOC has also used attack helicopters;AC-130 gunships;and fighter jets to help both Kenya and Ethiopia in their struggle against al-Shabaab.*
The US has been involved in counterterror operations against militant Islam in Somalia since the early years of this century.Around 500 US troops are believed to be in Somalia.*
The US Marine Corps Raider Regiment is the principal combat component of Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC).

Kenya Responds to Massacre of Christian Students

On Sunday and Monday,the Kenya Air Force conducted air strikes on two al-Shabaab camps just over the border in the Gedo region of Western Somalia,Kenya Defence Forces spokesman Colonel David Obongo said.The raids were carried out in response to al-Shabaab's horrific attack on Garissa University College last Thursday,in which the Islamist extremists killed 148 non-Muslim people,most of them Christian students.The raids were also part of an ongoing strategy against the militants.Garissa is located about 200 kilometers/120 miles from the border with Somalia,which is 700 km long.
An initial raid on the camps,which serve as arms caches and logistical support centres,took place on Sunday;a second sortie was carried out early Monday after more activity was noted in the camps.
The KDF's aerial images show the camps were completely destroyed;but cloud cover made it difficult to estimate the death toll,according to COL Obongo.Al-Shabaab denied that any of its camps were damaged in the raids,saying the bombs hit farm land.*
In 2013,al Shabaab killed 67 people in an assault on Westgate Mall in Nairobi.The jihadi group swore allegiance to al-Qaida in 2012.It was estimated to have about 7,000 fighters in 2014,including foreign fighters.The US has struck at the organisation several times with drone strikes and air strikes,killing some of its leaders,including Moktar Ali Zubayr on 1 September 2014.Their current leader is Ahmad Umar.The militant group is also allied with al-Qaida in the Arabian Penninsula,which is active in Yemen.Al-Shabaab is additionally suspected of having ties with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram,the ISIL affiliate in Nigeria.*
The Kenya Air Force flies the Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighter,an aircraft still used for training by the US Navy and Marine Corps,and is flown by the Swiss,Taiwan and Honduran air forces as well.

Pirate Attacks Ramp Up

Pirate activity in the Indian Ocean is keeping warships busy.In one recent incident,a U.S. Navy frigate,the USS Nicholas(FFG47)was fired on by a pirate skiff and responded with a 50-caliber machine gun,sinking the skiff.Sailors arrested three pirates from the skiff and two more on the mother ship.This occurred near the Seychelles islands,far from the pirates' customary range.The Nicholas has a speed of 29 knots.
In another encounter,the USS Farragut(DDG99),an Arleigh Burke class destroyer,arrested 11 more pirates.These pirates had to be released,as Kenya had no more room in its jails.The Farragut has a speed of 30+ knots.A South Korean warship also began pursuing pirates.The pirates had seized an oil tanker with more than 100 million dollars' worth of oil on board.

Frigate Participates

An Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate,the USS Halyburton(FFG40),participated in the anti-pirate operation off the coast of Somalia that freed Captain Richard Phillips,the merchant mariner who commanded the Maersk Alabama at the time it was attacked by the pirates.A replacement crew has since boarded the freighter in Mombasa,Kenya.The Perry class frigates are armed with a 76mm/62 caliber gun,as well as a Phalanx Close-In Weapon System and six torpedo tubes.They can sail at 29 knots and have a complement of 209.The Halyburton was built by Todd Pacific Shipyards,Seattle.She is homeported in Mayport,Florida.Frigates are among the smaller warships in service today.They are relied on for escort and patrol missions by many navies.The U.S. Navy has 30 of the frigates,keeping eight of them for reserve use.

Navy Strikes Somali Militants

At 3 AM on 1 May,a U.S. Navy ship fired at least four cruise missles into Somalia.Killed in the strike were Islamic militant Adenhashi Ayro,his brother,10 associates and 12 civilians.Mr.Ayro had trained in Afghanistan and lead the resistance against Somalia's transitional government.Mr.Ayro's group,the Al-Shebab insurgency,had desecrated the graves of Italians buried in Somalia,killed a BBC reporter and an Italian nun,attacked aid workers and protected the East Africa cell of Al Qaeda.In 1998,they targeted U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.