DefenceTalkPresident Joe Biden has ordered the reestablishment of a US troop presence in Somalia to help local authorities combat the Al-Shabaab militant group, a senior American official told reporters Monday. The move reverses an order from Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, who in late 2020 pulled nearly all US forces from the East African nation as […]https://www.defencetalk.com/biden-reestablishes-us-troop-presence-inside-somalia-78796/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkAt least 10 Somali soldiers were killed and an unknown number wounded when Al-Shabaab Islamist fighters ambushed them near a southern village, a military official and family member said Thursday. The attack took place late Wednesday in a village near Afgoye town, some 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the capital Mogadishu. “The soldiers were travelling […]https://www.defencetalk.com/more-than-10-somali-soldiers-killed-in-shabaab-ambush-76474/

DefenceTalkUS forces have conducted a series of air strikes in Somalia in recent days, including one announced Wednesday that officials said killed six militants. The strikes come as part of an ongoing mission in which US forces are working with African Union and Somali national security forces to fight the Shabaab movement. According to US […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-conducts-series-of-strikes-in-somalia-72017/

DefenceTalkPresident Donald Trump has boosted the US military’s authority to step up air strikes in the fight against Islamist insurgents in Somalia, the Defense Department said. According to a Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the new leeway accorded to the military will mean they no longer will have to justify a decision […]https://www.defencetalk.com/trump-boosts-us-military-authority-for-somalia-fighting-69629/

DefenceTalkA regional administration in Somalia said rival forces deliberately misled the US into launching an air strike that killed 13 of its troops and wounded seven others. The US confirmed conducting the strike on Wednesday morning near the town of Galkayo, but said it targeted the Shabaab, an al-Qaeda group. “During a Somali-led counterterrorism operation […]https://www.defencetalk.com/somali-force-duped-us-into-bombing-rival-official-68261/

DefenceTalkAn American air strike on a Shebab training camp in Somalia killed more than 150 fighters planning an imminent attack on forces from the United States and its regional allies, the Pentagon said Monday. While the US military regularly conducts operations targeting the Al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Somalia, Saturday’s raid had a greater toll than all […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-strike-kills-at-least-150-shebab-fighters-in-somalia-66975/

DefenceTalkUS drone aircraft targeted a senior figure in Somalia’s Shebab militia, the Pentagon said Tuesday, in the latest bid to take out leaders of the al-Qaida-linked group. US special operations forces “using unmanned aircraft and several Hellfire missiles” carried out the strike on Saturday against Shebab’s chief of external operations and planning, spokesman Rear Adm. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-drone-targets-senior-shebab-militant-in-somalia-62603/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon is shifting its drone operations from a US base in Djibouti to a more remote airfield after local officials voiced concern about possible collisions with commercial aircraft, officials said Wednesday. “There was a concern over what would happen if a MQ-1 (Predator drone) obstructed a runway, and that it would have a significant […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-relocates-drones-airfield-after-djibouti-crashes-49208/

DefenceTalkA Russian Udaloy class destroyer is escorting a second convoy of commercial ships since its arrival on an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden, the spokesman for Russia’s Northern Fleet, Capt. 1st rank Vadim Serga said on Monday. “The convoy escorted by the Severomorsk destroyer comprises the Arizona and the St. Paul bulk freighters, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-warship-escorts-second-convoy-off-somali-coast-47122/