.svg)
Donald Trump claims that he gave the order for military attacks against members of the Islamic State (IS) group in Somalia, including a key attack planner.
"These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies," Trump posted on social media.
"The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians."
The BBC could not immediately independently verify the reports.
Trump did not name any of the people targeted in strikes.
The president ended his post with: "The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that "WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!"
In a statement, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said "our initial assessment is that multiple operatives were killed in the airstrikes and no civilians were harmed".
Hegseth said the strikes "further degrade" the ability of IS "to plot and conduct terrorist attacks" and "sends a clear signal that the United States always stands ready to find and eliminate terrorists".
Trump criticized the previous administration, claiming that the U.S. military had pursued this specific IS planner for years but blamed Joe Biden and his allies for delaying action. "I got the job done!" he declared.
In 2023, under Biden’s orders, U.S. forces carried out an operation in northern Somalia, killing IS leader Bilal al-Sudani and 10 of his operatives in a remote mountain cave.
IS gained global attention in the 2010s, particularly in Syria and Iraq, but its influence is now mostly confined to parts of Africa.
The Somali branch of IS emerged in 2015 when a faction broke away from al-Shabab, the country’s most powerful jihadist group.
According to the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, IS in Somalia is primarily known for extorting locals and conducting small, sporadic attacks.
