On February 15, al-Shabaab militants attacked Baledogle Military Airfield in Lower Shebelle province, where US Marines train local forces that should fight al-Shabaab, according to the terrorist group’s media wing.
In its statement, al-Shabaab claimed that 3 US personnel and 5 members of US-trained forces were killed in a mortar attack. The US military has not commented on these claims so far.
Baledogle Military Airfield is located 110 km northwest of the Somali capital Mogadishu. It’s often described as a base for Somali special commandos.
In 2018, the US Defense Department contributed a $12 million contract for “emergency runway repairs” at the Baledogle base. This effort appears to be linked to the recently increased US activity in the region. Over the past year, the US increased intensity of airstrikes on al-Shabaab militants in Somalia. Despite this, the terrorist group still remains a powerful force influencing situation in the country.
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Can’t tell the difference between blue and purple on this map. Is “Autonomous Armed Force” supposed to control the ocean?
Different groupings.
Some groups dont follow Western rules and public their legal name and membership. Some groups may not even have a name.
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Those guys giggling in the corners should stop that and be serious. Its not funny.
The map is far off. Al-Shabaab is actually several tribal groups but it is interspersed and even overlapped by many other African tribes. And the only thing the “Somali government” has to claim to be the government of Somalia is they currently control the former colonial capital of Somalia. Essentially, every little village can function as an independent state if they feel like it, and there is little government outside of clan organization and revenge murder.