US forces have killed ISIS leader Bilal al-Sudani in Somalia. He is said to have been one of the central figures of the group in Africa. The continent has long been the new epicenter for jihadists.
In Somalia, US forces have killed one of the suspected key figures of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia in Africa, Bilal Al-Sudani. The White House said about ten other extremists were killed in the operation in the north of the country. Al-Sudani was a “key actor and mediator for the global network” of IS.
According to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, al-Sudani played a key role in promoting the various ISIS affiliates on the African continent. He was also active in Afghanistan. He had previously belonged to the Islamist terrorist militia Al-Shabaab. The US government did not provide any specific details on the nature of the operation.
USA: Unable to capture
No US soldiers or civilians were killed or seriously wounded in the operation, it said. Actually, the goal was to capture al-Sudani. However, this was ultimately not possible because of the “reaction of the enemy forces”. The deployment itself had been extensively rehearsed by the US armed forces in advance.
The US had had al-Sudani on its radar since 2012 due to his terrorist activities. The White House said he was still recruiting fighters for the Al-Shabaab terrorist militia, which was also active in Somalia. Last year, the authorities linked him to a South African IS supporter with whom he organized the recruitment of fighters and financed training in IS terror camps. Nothing is known about al-Sudani’s age or nationality.
More IS attacks in Nigeria than in Iraq
After the so-called Islamic State lost a large part of its sphere of influence in the Middle East, the terrorist group is increasingly turning to the African continent, according to the findings of the ICCT think tank. Accordingly, the IS last year made more than half of its operations in Africa. In the first half of the year, there were more IS attacks in Nigeria than in Iraq. In addition to Somalia and Nigeria, armed groups in Congo, Mozambique and several countries in the Sahel zone are also committed to IS.
The US is part of the Africa Focus Group of the international alliance against IS, founded in 2021. In addition, the United States is supporting Somalia in the fight against Islamists with drones, among other things. Almost a year ago, the US military killed the then IS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Kurashi in Syria.
Source: Stern
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