Updated Thu, May 12th 2016 at 20:46 GMT +3A U.S. forces in Somalia called in an air strike on Thursday that killed five fighters from the al Qaeda-linked militant group al Shabaab, the Pentagon said. Al Shabaab was also behind deadly attacks in Kenya and Uganda, which both contribute troops to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia. The U.S. forces had been advising Ugandan soldiers with the African Union mission (AMISOM) during an operation against an illegal taxation checkpoint when the Ugandans got into a firefight with 15-20 al Shabaab fighters. Al Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping forces in 2011 but has remained a potent antagonist in Somalia, launching frequent attacks in its bid to overthrow the Western-backed government. The United States has about 50 military personnel inside Somalia and has repeatedly targeted the group in recent months, including a strike on a senior al Shabaab leader in April and another on a training camp in March that killed some 150 fighters.

Source: Standard Digital May 12, 2016 12:20 UTC