Somalia airstrike: Trump says Biden wasn't 'quick enough' to order military action against Islamic State operatives

1. Somalia airstrike: Trump says Biden wasn't 'quick enough' to order military action against Islamic State operatives

Somalia airstrike: Trump says Biden wasn't 'quick enough' to order military action against Islamic State operatives ByHT News Desk Feb 02, 2025 12:15 AM IST Share Via Copy Link Somalia airstrike: The United States has periodically carried out airstrikes in Somalia for years under Republican and Democratic administrations.

Somalia airstrike: US President Donald Trump said he ordered airstrikes on members of the Islamic State terror group, including a senior attack planner, in Africa's Somalia on Saturday. The strikes mark the first overseas operation by the military since Trump returned to power.

Somalia airstrike: US President Donald Trump blamed Biden for deferring military action against the terror group. (File)(AFP)

“This morning, I ordered precision military air strikes on the senior ISIS attack planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia,” Trump said in a post on X.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that “multiple operatives” were killed as per an initial assessment carried out by the US, and no civilians were harmed. The strikes were carried out in the Golis Mountains area, he said.

Hegseth said the strikes degraded the terror group's ability “to plot and conduct terrorist attacks” threatening the US, its allies and civilians.

“(It) sends a clear signal that the United States always stands ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies, even as we conduct robust border protection and many other operations under President Trump’s leadership,” Hegseth said in a statement.

Trump said the attackers, who were “hiding in caves”, threatened the US and its allies in the region. “The strikes destroyed the caves they live in and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians,” he added.

The US president alleged that his predecessor, Joe Biden, delayed action against the targeted individuals in the strikes. “Our military has targeted this ISIS Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did! The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!,” Trump added.

News agency Reuters could not independently verify the details of the operation.