US military operation kills senior ISIS leader in Somalia
By Haley Britzky and Sam Fossum, CNN
A US military operation killed a senior ISIS leader and 10 members of the terror group in northern Somalia on Wednesday, two senior Biden administration officials said on Thursday.
“From a mountainous cave complex in northern Somalia, Bilal al-Sudani is assessed to have supported ISIS’ expansion and activities across Africa and beyond the continent,” the first senior administration official said.
US forces, according to the official, were prepared to capture al-Sudani but the “hostile force’s response” ultimately resulted in his death. The official said al-Sudani was involved in “funding a network of ISIS affiliates around the world, and in particular doing so where ISIS has been expanding,” including in Afghanistan.
No US troops or civilians were killed, although one service member was injured during the operation after being bitten by an American military dog.The second official said that the US notified two counterterrorism partners, including the Somali government.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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