WASHINGTON: A US military raid in Somalia ordered by President Joe Biden killed a key regional leader of the Daesh group, Bilal Al-Sudani, US officials said Thursday.
Sudani was killed during a gunfight after US troops descended on a mountainous cave complex in northern Somalia hoping to capture him, according to US officials. Around 10 of Sudani’s Daesh associates at the scene were killed, but there were no American casualties, the officials said.
“On January 25, on orders from the president, the US military conducted an assault operation in northern Somalia that resulted in the death of a number of Daesh members, including Bilal Al-Sudani,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
“Al-Sudani was responsible for fostering the growing presence of Daesh in Africa and for funding the group’s operations worldwide, including in Afghanistan,” Austin said.
From his mountain base in northern Somalia, he provided and coordinated funding for Daesh branches, not only in Africa but also Daesh Khorasan, the arm operating in Afghanistan, a US official said on condition of anonymity.
Ten years ago, before he joined the Daesh, Sudani was involved in recruiting and training fighters for the extremist Al-Shabab movement in Somalia. “Sudani had a key operational and financial role with specialized skills which made him an important target for US counterterrorism action,” the official said.
The operation had been prepared over a period of months, with US forces rehearsing at a site built to replicate the terrain where Sudani was hiding. Biden authorized the strike earlier this week after consulting with top defense, intelligence and security officials, the official said. –Agencies
