Washington: According to US officials, President Joe Biden directed a US military operation in Somalia that resulted in the death of Bilal al-Sudani, a prominent regional head of the Daesh organisation.
Sudani was killed in a crossfire by US troops after he entered a network of mountain caves in northern Somalia in the hope of being captured, according to US officials.
About ten Daesh supporters from Sudan were killed at the scene, according to officials, but no Americans were hurt. According to a statement by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, "On orders from the President, US forces conducted an assault operation in northern Somalia on January 25 that resulted in the killing of several Daesh members, including Bilal al-Sudani."
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According to Austin, al-Sudani was in charge of aiding Daesh's expansion into Africa and providing financial support for the organization's worldwide operations, including Afghanistan.
A US official said on condition of anonymity from his mountain base in northern Somalia that he provided funding and coordination not only for Daesh branches in Africa but also for Daesh Khorasan, the branch operating in Afghanistan.
Sudani was involved in recruiting and training fighters for the radical al-Shabaab movement in Somalia ten years ago before joining Daesh. According to the official, "Sudanese had an important operational and financial role and special skills, making him a prime target for US counterterrorism operations."
US forces were conducting exercises at a site designed to mimic the area where the Sudanese had been hiding during months of preparation for the operation.
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The official claimed that Biden authorized the strike earlier this week after consultations with senior defense, intelligence and security officials.
Another administration official stated that "an intended capture operation was ultimately found to be the best option for maximizing the intelligence value of the operation and increasing its accuracy in difficult terrain."
But the officer claimed that he died due to "reaction of hostile forces to the operation".
According to the official, the only injury suffered by an American during the raid was caused by a US military service dog biting one of the service members.
The official said that President Biden has made it clear that we are committed to detecting and neutralizing terrorist threats to the United States and the American people, no matter how far they hide, in this operation and all others. .
The long-running US military operations in Somalia have been conducted in coordination with and on behalf of the government, most of which involve routine airstrikes to support government forces battling Shabaab rebels. Some of them are reportedly carried out from a US base in Djibouti, which is located in the north of Somalia.
Between 2017 and 2020, the number of US airstrikes in Somalia increased to dozens per year; However, two to four ground operations were also observed each year.
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Data compiled by New America, a national security think tank, shows that since Biden took office in 2021, airstrikes have dropped to just 16 in 2022, and no ground strikes.