US forces strike Islamic State positions in Somalia

Troops of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) delivered strikes on positions held by the Islamic State terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) on the territory of Somalia, Report informs via TASS.

AFRICOM said on its website that the operation took place on March 29. The US military coordinated the strikes with the Somali government. The strikes targeted Islamic State position southeast of Bosaso in Puntland.

The report says the militants presented a threat to the US military. Other details of the operation were not disclosed.

Semafor wrote on March 28 that Somalia’s government has offered the US "exclusive operational control" over strategic ports on the Gulf of Aden. In the letter, seen by the portal, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud offers US President Donald Trump "strategically positioned assets," including the Berbera port and airbase, located in Somaliland, and the Bosaso port and airbase, in Puntland.

The assets in question, however, are not under control of Somalia’s federal government.