“The troops had been on a mission to clear al-Shabaab from contested areas as well as villages the militants controlled, ‘and establish a permanent combat outpost’ to expand the reach of the Somali state.”
They’ll never succeed in this without confronting the ideology that al-Shabaab represents, and upon which it recruits among Muslims. But the U.S. military is not remotely willing to do that.
“U.S. soldier killed in Somalia firefight identified,” Reuters, June 10, 2018:
June 10 (Reuters) – A U.S. commando killed in a Somalia firefight against al-Shabaab militants was identified as U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Alexander Conrad, 26, of Chandler, Arizona, the Department of Defense said late Saturday.
Sgt. Conrad was killed and four other commandos were wounded Friday during an operation against the militants, the U.S. military said….
Conrad, and the U.S. special operations forces were fighting alongside about 800 troops from the Somali National Security Forces and Kenyan Defense Forces when they were attacked about 2:45 p.m. Friday by mortars and small arms fire.
The troops had been on a mission to clear al-Shabaab from contested areas as well as villages the militants controlled, “and establish a permanent combat outpost” to expand the reach of the Somali state, the U.S. military’s Africa Command said in a statement….
About 500 U.S. troops are deployed in Somalia.