US Strikes al-Qaida Group in Somalia - dozens killed

According to a press release from US Africa Command,US Forces,in coordination with the Somali Government,conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab Islamist extremists,who are associated with al-Qaida,on 12 October 2018.It took place in the Haradere area of Mugdu Province,Somalia.The current assessment is that about 60 militants were killed,which makes it the biggest strike since 21 November 2017,in which around 100 al-Shabaab members were killed.No civilians were killed or injured in the latest strike,the assessment found.
Such strikes reduce al-Shabaab's ability to plot future attacks;disrupt the leadership networks;and degrade the freedom of manoeuvre in the region,AFRICOM said.*
The enemy has used parts of Southern and Central Somalia to plot and direct terror attacks;steal humanitarian aid;extort the local populace to fund its operations;and shelter radical terrorists,thus destabilising Somalia and its neighbours,while threatening the interests of the US and its allies in the region.*
Baledogle Airfield,70 miles/112.654 km northwest of the capital Mogadishu,is a former Soviet airbase now used by multinational forces,including the US,which has launched drone attacks against al-Shabaab from it.It is believed that armed General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drones were sent on this latest mission.The US has also launched  missiles from US Navy warships against the militants.
MQ-9s are additionally used for high altitude surveillance missions.The Reaper is flown by the Royal Air Force and Italian Air Force as well.*

Special Report:US Soldier KIA in Somalia Identified - Green Beret had intel links

The Pentagon has identified the US Army Soldier killed in action by the al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabaab on Friday in Somalia as SSG Alexander W. Conrad,26,of Chandler,Arizona.The native of Mesa,Arizona was a member of 1st Battalion,3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) out of Fort Bragg,North Carolina.SSG Conrad was serving alongside Somali National Security Forces and Kenyan Defence Forces in Jubaland State when they were attacked around 1445 hrs by mortars and small arms fire.He was killed by indirect enemy fire,i.e.,mortar shells or an IED.Four other US Soldiers and a Somali Soldier were wounded.
The allied forces were on a clearing operation to remove al-Shabaab from contested areas and villages and establish a permanent combat outpost to expand the control of the the Somali Federal Government.*
According to 3rd Special Forces Group,SSG Conrad had joined the Army in 2010 and,following basic and follow-on training,was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord,Washington State,as a human intelligence (HUMINT) collector.While stationed at the Joint Base,he pulled two tours in Afghanistan.Subsequently,SSG Conrad advanced his HUMINT collection skills by completing the French Basic Language Course at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey,California in 2016.He was consequently assigned to 3rd SFG as a HUMINT Non-Commissioned Officer.*
By way of context,it should be noted that,indeed,3rd SFG has from its inception in 1963 been oriented to Africa and the Middle East,being nearly continuously active in the wars in Afghanistan and,somewhat less,in Iraq as well,at the peak of those conflagrations.As the US role in these wars was reduced,3rd SFG began to shift its emphasis to Africa and the rise of militant Islam on that continent.
Before SSG Conrad's death,3rd SFG had sustained four other KIAs in Africa in October 2017,when four of its Soldiers were killed in Niger in West Africa.
The remaining al-Shabaab stronghold in Somalia is the regions around the capital,Mogadishu.At the time of the Jubaland engagement,the 3rd SFG was providing advice,assistance and aerial surveillance to the African forces there by means including an armed UAV. *
SSG Conrad was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medals.He had also been decorated with the Army Commendation Medal (3rd award);Army Good Conduct Medal (2nd award);Combat Action Badge;Basic Parachutist Badge;and Meritorious Unit Commendation (second award).*
"Greater love hath no man than this,that a man lay down his life for his friends."
- John 15:13                 '

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).

Pentagon Identifies US Service Member Killed in Somalia - New England native excelled in special ops

The Pentagon has announced that Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Kyle Milliken,38,of Falmouth Maine,was killed while on a raid with Somali commandos against al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabaab about 40 miles west of the Somali capital Mogadishu.SCSWO Milliken and his team were helicoptered into the raid and immediately took fire from the militants.He was wounded along with two other Americans and medivaced to the neighbouring nation of Djibouti,where he died of his wounds.*
SCSWO Milliken was a husband and father who resided with his family in Virginia Beach,Virginia.He was a member of SEAL Team Six,the unit that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.SCSWO Milliken was a veteran of both the Iraq and Afghan Wars,earning a total of four Bronze Star Medals for his service,among many others.A graduate of the University of Connecticut,he had been in the Navy for 13 years.*
Fifty US Special Warfare Operatives are currently serving in a train and advise capacity with the African Union forces in Somalia.SCSWO Milliken was the first US service member to be killed in action in Somalia since 1993,when 18 US service members died in the Battle of Mogadishu,which was dramatised in the movie "Blackhawk Down."*
According to a Somali official,the special operation was surgically targeting senior members of al-Shabaab hiding in the area and a media outlet supportive of the Islamist extremists.It was considered a success as several of the terrorists were killed.*
SCSWO Milliken will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

Afghanistan:US Counterterrorism Combat Will Continue;Air Strike in Somalia

On Sunday,28 December,Operation Enduring Freedom ended after 13 years of the Afghan War that cost the lives of more than 2,000 US troops.Some 10,800 US troops will remain until America's allies up their contribution;then 9800 US troops will provide the bulk of NATO's Operation Resolute Support,which will have an end strength of 13,500.The US will share an advise,assist and training mission with its NATO allies;but will handle counterterrorism combat operations on its own under the name Operation Freedom's Sentinel.
US troops will continue to engage in combat with al Qaida militants in Afghanistan still posing a national security risk to the United States.Outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement that we will work with our allies and partners as part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission to continue training,advising and assisting Afghan security forces.And we will continue our counterterrorism mission against the remnants of al Qaida to ensure that Afghanistan is never again used to stage attacks against our homeland.
General John Campbell,US Army,is commander of both NATO's Operation Resolute Support and America's Operation Freedom's Sentinel.The Afghan National Security Forces number more than 350,000 troops and police,and have shown themselves to be fairly competent in combat and security operations after extensive training,though deficient in logistics and airpower against a Taliban and al Qaida enemy that remain determined and dangerous to the fledgling Afghan democracy.*
Meanwhile,the US continues to combat Islamist militants in Somalia as well.Today it conducted an airstrike on a leader of the al-Shabab organization near Saakow,Somalia.The militant's identity was not revealed;nor had the effectiveness of the strike been ascertained;it was still being assessed.Al-Shabab is an al Qaida affiliate.
Update:On Wednesday 31 December,the Pentagon stated that the Somali Islamist militant leader targeted in Monday's airstrike had been killed when his vehicle was struck by several Hellfire missiles fired by a drone.The strike had been triggered by actionable intelligence.The leader killed was Tahliil Abdishakur,chief of al-Shabab's intelligence section.

Twilight of the USS Enterprise

In a few years,the world's first nuclear aircraft carrier,the USS Enterprise(CVN 65)will be decommissioned.From that date until 2015,the U.S. Navy will be short an aircraft carrier.In 2015,the USS Gerald R Ford will join the fleet,bringing the number of carriers back to 11.
The Enterprise was commissioned on 25 November,1961.Since then,she has served in every major combat operation.Originally built to last 25 years,through excellent maintenance the ship will soon surpass 50 years of service life.So far,more than 100,000 Sailors and Marines have served on her.The Big E is the second oldest ship in the fleet after the wooden-hulled USS Constitution.
The Big E was last deployed on 13 January,2011 in the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean.On that cruise with her strike group of a Carrier Air Wing,guided missile cruiser and three guided missile destroyers,she participated in operations which captured 75 Somali pirates and launched missile strikes against the repressive Gaddafi regime in Libya.
The Enterprise has one or two more deployments ahead of her.A deployment typically lasts about six months.In 2013,the ship will be decommissioned,then deactivated and defueled at Huntington Ingalls Industries in Newport News,Virginia.It is uncertain whether the Enterprise can become a museum following this massive and unprecedented safing process,which will involve dismantling much of the warship.
Huntington Ingalls Industries(HII)

Hostages Perish,But Navy Commandos Kill,Capture Pirates

U.S. Navy SEALs attempted to rescue four Americans being held hostage by Somali pirates Tuesday,but found them already dead when they boarded the hijacked yacht SV Quest that had been taken off the coast of Oman,near Yemen and Somalia.The yacht,the Adams' 58-foot sloop, had been shadowed by a Navy task force of four warships:an aircraft carrier;two destroyers;and a cruiser.
At one point,a Somali pirate on the yacht fired a rocket-propelled grenade at one of the warships and gunfire was heard below deck on the yacht.The SEALs were dispatched in an orange life raft to rescue the hostages and,in the event,killed two of the pirates on the Quest,arresting 13 others.Two other pirates were found dead on the yacht,and another two were negotiating with the FBI on one of the warships;they were also detained.
The fifteen surviving pirates are being held on one of the Navy ships.They will go through the appropriate process to hold them accountable,said Vice Admiral Mark Fox of U.S. Central Command.
The hostages were Scott Adams and his wife Jean of Marina del Rey,California,as well as Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle of Seattle.They were apparently on a mission to distribute bibles,having just participated in a sailing rally,and were aware that they were in dangerous waters,asking for prayers to be protected from the pirates.
At present,Somali pirates are holding some 30 other ships and 660 hostages.The Navy is sending three more warships from San Diego to join the anti-piracy effort.

Somali Piracy Update:South Korean SEALs Retake Freighter

In a remarkable predawn raid last Friday,South Korean navy commandos wrested control of the freighter Samho Jewelry back from Somali pirates,killing eight of them and arresting five.All 21 hostages on the freighter,which had been transporting chemicals from the United Arab Emirates to Sri Lanka,were freed in the five-hour operation that involved a destroyer and helicopter providing covering fire as the commandos used ladders to board the merchant ship.
The ship's captain was shot in the stomach by a pirate.Seok Bae-gyun,58,was flown off the freighter by a U.S. helicopter to a friendly nation for medical care.He was expected to make a full recovery.
So far this year,Somali pirates have seized four vessels.They currently hold a total of 31 ships with 716 hostages on board.An international flotilla,including U.S. Navy warships,continues to conduct anti-piracy patrols near Somalia,with sporadic successes such as the South Korean raid to show for its efforts.Four days before the raid,a U.S. Navy boarding party had disrupted a suspected Somali pirate operation in the Gulf of Aden.

Navy Halts Suspected Pirates

Last Monday,a boarding party from the destroyer USS Laboon(DDG 58)stopped a skiff sailing in the Gulf of Aden,off the coast of Somalia,which was likely perpetrating acts of piracy.The Laboon had been tailing the skiff for hours before the boarding party was dispatched.It seized fuel and equipment that Somali pirates use in their commandeering of merchant vessels.
The sailors reportedly witnessed the skiff's crew dumping weapons and ladders into the Gulf as the Laboon approached them.No arrests were made,NATO alliance sources said.The Laboon has been assigned to a NATO task force for anti-piracy and other missions since August 2010.It is armed with missiles and a Mk45 5-inch/54 caliber gun,as well as Mk32 torpedo tubes.

Navy Helo Thwarts Attack

A Navy helicopter broke up a pirate attack on the merchant ship Ice Explorer early on Monday morning,the NATO defence alliance revealed.The ship,which was in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia,radioed a mayday when the crew spotted suspicious activity.The USS Kauffman(FFG 59)dispatched the helicopter,and the pirates dumped weapons and other items into the sea when they realized they'd been detected.A Navy boarding party seized some of the pirates' gear.
The Ice Explorer's alert crew was pivotal to the successful outcome,a Navy officer said.They caught the pirates in the act before it was too late.At least 17 ships and several hundred mariners are currently being held by Somali pirates,who demand millions of dollars of ransom for their release.NATO,as well as Russia,China and India have been staging naval patrols off the Somali coast for some time,with mixed results.Even when prates have been apprehended,there is often nowhere to send them and they are released.
The USS Kauffman is an Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate.It can carry two Seahawk helicopters.Displacing 4100 tons,the relatively small warship can cruise at 29 knots.
The 9 August incident closely resembles several other engagements between Somali pirates and naval helicopters in recent years.Confronted with military opposition,the pirates seldom resist.

Admiral Papp Assumes Command

The Coast Guard has a new Commandant.He is Admiral Robert J. Papp,Jr.Admiral Papp succeeds Admiral Thad W. Allen,who continues to lead the BP oil spill effort in retirement.Admiral Papp graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1975,going on to earn a master of arts degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College,as well as a master of science in management from Salve Regina University.The admiral had served as Atlantic Area Commander,Commander of Defense Force East and Chief of Staff Coast Guard.
Admiral Papp is committed to all the Coast Guard's many missions,from search and rescue to drug interdiction and the newer counter-terrorism and anti-piracy missions off Somalia.He is additionally concerned about the need to consider a new ice breaker for the Arctic patrol function,which could cost upwards of a billion dollars to build.The only active icebreaker is the Polar Sea,which will be retired in a few years.There is an effort underway to refurbish the mothballed Polar Star for another seven to eight years of service.With activity in the Arctic picking up in recent years,the icebreaker issue is becoming more critical than ever before.
Now belonging to the Department of Homeland Security,the Coast Guard has 42,000 active duty personnel,in addition to 7,000 civilian workers.It has assisted with maritime security in the Iraq War.

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.

Who The Pirates Are

Somali pirates have struck again in the Gulf of Aden,seizing two more merchant vessels and taking 45 crew hostage.That brings this year's total to 324 attacks on 37 ships with 8639 hostages.Warships from more than 12 countries,including the U.S.,U.K.,France,Netherlands,Russia,China and India have had sporadic success combating the pirates,but for the most part have only pushed them out into the far reaches of the Indian Ocean to ply their trade.
There are an estimated 1200 Somali pirates.Among them are many ex-fishermen and warlord militiamen,lending useful expertise to their criminal enterprise.The Somali government wants the millions spent on naval patrols to be spent on inland poverty as well,which they think is the root of the problem.The pirates are reaping millions of dollars in ransom with their dangerous escapades at sea.Once monsoon season lets up,they are able to begin another cycle of plunder in their small boats.Their latest victims are the British chemical tanker St.James Park and a Panamanian cargo ship.

How Pirates Evade Warships

Somali pirates are having little trouble evading the warships of the world.Their piracy is at an all-time high;it already exceeds the level for all 2008.Just how are they managing to persist in the face of the world's navies?One Dutch naval officer pointed out that piracy could be a problem as long as Somalia remains unstable.The pirates are aided by the vast areas involved.No amount of warships can cover that much ocean.Then there is western countries' concern for due process.They just can't blow the civilian pirates out of the water.Often,when pirates see the warships coming,they dump their weapons overboard.As well,the warships are afraid of harming the pirates' hostages,the Dutch officer indicated.Within the shipping community,there are mixed views of arming merchant vessels.Some ships are now carrying armed guards;others remain opposed to this,as does the U.N.For all these reasons,military presence alone will not resolve the piracy issue.
Among U.S. vessels on anti-piracy patrol have been the USS Gettysburg(CG64)and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell.Both ships arrested suspected pirates.

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 Photos Show Cargo

U.S. Navy photos depict a cargo of what is apparently three million dollars in ransom,dropping by parachute onto a Saudi oil tanker that pirates have held since 15 November,2008.A negotiator told The Associated Press the Somali pirates had released the ship in exchange for the money.The pirates had originally demanded 25 million for the ship and its two million barrels of oil,which was worth about 100 million dollars.The tanker had been taken more than 500 miles,or 804.65 km,out to sea in the Indian Ocean.This was despite the patrols of warships in the region.Although the security effort has been stepped up,with ships from the U.S.,U.K.,Germany,France,India and China now participating,it is unlikely maritime patrols alone can stop all,or even most,of the pirates.There are too many pirates with too many weapons for that.Only a stable Somalia with good economic prospects can ultimately solve the problem,and those conditions are nowhere in sight.

Possible Militant Drugs Stopped

The U.S. Navy and U.K. forces have seized more than 20 tons of drugs on a hashish highway through the Indian Ocean.Since October,100 million dollars' worth of drugs have been halted.These could have funded Afghan militants.The drugs were seized in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden,where there have been many Somali pirate attacks.U.S. Fifth Fleet spokesman Lt.Nathan Christensen declined to say where the drugs came from,but noted that many of the narcotics stopped along the route are going to and from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Navy Watches Pirates

Six U.S. Navy warships have surrounded the Ukrainian freighter MV Faina,which has been commandeered by pirates off the coast of Somalia.Among the warships is the USS Howard(DDG83),an Arleigh Burke class destroyer.The warships have been sending helicopters to observe the pirates,who are holding 20 hostages,including Ukrainians,Latvians and Russians.Another hostage appears to have taken ill and died.There are 33 tanks,as well as other weapons and ammunition,aboard the freighter,which the Navy is concerned will aid militants in the region.The pirates are believed to be armed with automatic weapons,anti-tank weapons and grenades.They say that no one can tell them what to do,and that they are prepared to die if need be.There have been about 30 pirate attacks in the area this year.The Navy leads patrols along the 1880 mile Somali coast-or about 3025 kilometers.The Canadian navy also patrols off Somalia.Somalia has the longest coast in Africa,and is near key shipping lanes.A Russian frigate should arrive on scene within days.

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.