Islamic State leader killed in US military operation in Somalia

The operation was approved by US President Joe Biden earlier this week and carried out within the past 24 hours.

AN ISIS fighter uses his phone to  lm a military parade in Syria’s northern Raqqa province in 2014 (photo credit: REUTERS)
AN ISIS fighter uses his phone to lm a military parade in Syria’s northern Raqqa province in 2014
(photo credit: REUTERS)

The US military carried out an operation that killed a senior Islamic State leader in northern Somalia, US officials said on Thursday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters that Bilal al-Sudani, a US-designated ISIS leader in Somalia, was killed in the operation along with about 10 of his associates.

They added that the operation was approved by US President Joe Biden earlier this week and carried out within the past 24 hours.

The officials declined to discuss basic details of the operation.

They declined to articulate any direct threat posed by Sudani to the United States, offer details about whether any intelligence was collected, how the US forces carried out the operation or even how many American troops were involved.

This is a developing story.