The Biden administration reported on Thursday that American special operations forces had killed a top leader of the Islamic State group and ten other terrorists in rural northern Somalia.
The operation conducted on Wednesday was directed at Bilal al-Sudani, a crucial financial intermediary for the international terrorist group, who was hiding out in a network of mountain caves.
U.S. special operations forces have killed a senior Islamic State group official and 10 other terrorist operatives in remote northern Somalia, the Biden administration announced on Thursday.
The operation carried out on Wednesday targeted Bilal al-Sudani, a key financial facilitator for the global terrorist organization, in a mountainous cave complex.
“This action leaves the United States and its partners safer and more secure, and it reflects our steadfast commitment to protecting Americans from the threat of terrorism at home and abroad,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
The potential mission was explained to President Joe Biden last week following months of planning. Following Austin’s advice and that of Army Gen. David Petraeus, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he granted the operation’s execution his final approval this week. Mark Milley, according to two senior Biden administration officials who, under the condition of anonymity, briefed reporters on the operation.
According to Austin, Al-Sudani, who has been on U.S. intelligence agencies’ radar for years, was crucial in providing funding for IS operations in Africa as well as the ISIS-K terrorist branch operating in Afghanistan.
Al-Sudani allegedly collaborated closely with Abdella Hussein Abadigga, an IS operative who recruited young men in South Africa and sent them to a weapons training camp, according to allegations made by the U.S. Treasury Department last year.
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