A service member with a U.S. special operations training mission in southern Somalia was killed Friday and four others were injured when they came under attack by insurgent forces, according to CNN.
A US service member was killed Friday in southern Somalia, four US military officials tell @barbarastarrcnn.
— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) June 8, 2018
Additionally four US service members were wounded when the team came under attack by mortars and small arms from unknown insurgent forces in the area.
The team was attacked with small arms and mortars from an unidentified insurgent group, CNN reported, citing U.S. military officials.
The attack occurred in Jubaland as the U.S. team was training with Somali and Kenyan forces.
According to a statement from military officials, three U.S. troops were flown out of the field for medical treatment and one was treated on the ground. A Kenyan was also injured in the attack and flown out for medical treatment.
A US Special Operations forces soldier was killed and four more were wounded in an attack in Somalia today, per AFRICOM pic.twitter.com/9cG9QCCIiF
— Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) June 8, 2018
A US Special Operations forces soldier was killed and four more were wounded in an attack in Somalia today, per AFRICOM pic.twitter.com/9cG9QCCIiF
— Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) June 8, 2018
President Donald Trump responded to the event Friday night on Twitter, calling the soldiers heroes.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the families of our serviceman who was killed and his fellow servicemen who were wounded in Somolia. They are truly all HEROES," Trump said.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the families of our serviceman who was killed and his fellow servicemen who were wounded in Somolia (sic)," he tweeted. "They are truly all HEROES."
A Navy seal died last year during a fight with al-Shabaab militants, but prior to that U.S. military death there had been no deaths of U.S. service personnel since the "Black Hawk Down" incident in 1993 killed 18 American soldiers.
The U.S. has widened its anti-terrorism campaign in Somalia in recent years to help the country fight al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked terrorism group operating in Northern Africa.
Cox Media Group
