U.S. airstrike in Somalia kills 52 al-Shabab extremists

JOHANNESBURG – The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike in Somalia that killed 52 al-Shabab extremists in response to an attack on Somali forces.

The U.S. Africa Command statement says the airstrike occurred Saturday near Jilib in Middle Juba region.

The U.S. says Somali forces had come under attack by a “large group” of the al-Qaida-linked extremists.

The statement does not say how many Somali forces were killed or wounded. There are no reports of Americans killed or wounded.

Al-Shabab controls large parts of rural southern and central Somalia and continues to carry out high-profile attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, and elsewhere. The group claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on a luxury hotel complex in Kenya’s capital on Tuesday.