On Monday, a statement from the US Africa Command disclosed that civilian casualties occurred as a result of a US military airstrike in Somalia that occurred in February. The attack also killed two members of al-Shabab, an Islamist militant group. The statement confirms that two civilians were killed and three were injured in the airstrike. The head of the US Africa Command, General Stephen Townsend, stated that they are deeply sorry the incident occurred.
The official report claims that the civilians were killed after munitions stored by al-Shabab were ignited and blew up in a secondary explosion. The report also notes that in total, there were 91 airstrikes conducted by the US Africa Command in Somalia and Libya alone between February and March of 2020. Gen. Townsend stated that the agency plans on producing quarterly reports on civilian casualties.
Read More: US reports deaths of civilians in Somali air strike
