Washington: The Pentagon says a U.S. drone strike on Saturday struck a training camp for al-Shabab fighters in Somalia who were preparing to launch a large-scale attack, likely against African or U.S. personnel.
Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, says the strike hit Raso Camp, killing more than 150 fighters. He says the U.S. was watching the camp for weeks.
He says it appeared that the training was ending and the operational phase of a suspected attack was about to start.
Davis says the training camp, about 120 miles (195 kilometers) north of Mogadishu, was destroyed.
The Al-Qaida-linked Al Shabab has been linked to a number of attacks, including the detonation of a bomb aboard a commercial passenger jet last month that forced the plane to make an emergency landing in Mogadishu.
In April 2015, Al-Shabab militants attacked the Garissa University College in Kenya, killing 148 people.
A September 2013 attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, left 67 civilians dead.
A U.S. official told NBC that the group was conducting "some kind of ceremony" when it was attacked by unmanned U.S. drones. Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for a number of devastating attacks in the region. In April 2015, al-Shabab militants attacked the Garissa University College in Kenya, killing 148 people. A September 2013 attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, left 67 civilians dead. This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: "http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/US-Drone-Strikes-Kill-150-People-in-Somalia-20160307-0028.html". If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english
