Trump Unleashes Airstrikes on ISIS in Somalia: 'We Will Find You, and We Will Kill You'

In a bold move to combat the growing threat of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Somalia, President Donald Trump ordered a series of airstrikes against the group's operatives in the country. The strikes, conducted by U.S. Africa Command, were directed by Trump and coordinated with Somalia's government, marking the first such attacks in the African nation during Trump's second term.

The Pentagon's initial assessment indicated that "multiple" operatives were killed in the airstrikes, with no civilian casualties reported. Trump took to social media to announce the successful operation, stating that the strikes destroyed caves where the terrorists were hiding and killed many terrorists without harming civilians. He also claimed that the U.S. military had targeted this ISIS attack planner for years, but previous administrations, namely Biden's, had not acted quickly enough to get the job done.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Trump's sentiments, stating that the action further degrades ISIS's ability to plot and conduct terrorist attacks threatening U.S. citizens, our partners, and innocent civilians. He also emphasized that the U.S. is ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and its allies.

The airstrikes come as the U.S. military's counterterrorism strategy in Africa has been strained by the ousting of U.S. forces from key bases in Chad and Niger, which had been used to train and conduct missions against terrorist groups across the Sahel region. U.S. military officials have warned that IS cells have received increasing direction from the group's leadership that relocated to northern Somalia, including how to kidnap Westerners for ransom, how to learn better military tactics, how to hide from drones, and how to build their own small quadcopters.

The number of ISIS militants in the country is estimated to be in the hundreds, mostly scattered in the Cal Miskaat mountains in Puntland's Bari region, according to the International Crisis Group. Saturday's operation followed military airstrikes on Jan. 30 in northwest Syria, killing a senior operative in Hurras al-Din, an al-Qaeda affiliate, U.S. Central Command said.

While the airstrikes are a significant step in combating the ISIS threat in Somalia, it remains to be seen whether this approach will be effective in the long term. The U.S. military's counterterrorism strategy in Africa has faced challenges in the past, and the Trump administration's approach may have its own limitations. As the situation in Somalia continues to evolve, it is crucial for the U.S. and its allies to remain vigilant and adapt their strategies to address the complex and ever-changing nature of the threat posed by extremist groups.