US drone strike in Somalia kills 'several' with al-Shabab

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - The U.S. military said Wednesday it has carried out another drone strike against al-Shabab in Somalia that killed several extremists, the latest in a weeklong series of strikes that have left dozens dead.

The U.S. Africa Command said it was the 28th such airstrike this year in Somalia against both the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab and the new but growing presence of Islamic State group fighters.

Since last Thursday, drone strikes in Somalia against both extremist groups have killed more than 45 fighters, the U.S. military said.

This is the busiest stretch of airstrikes since the Trump administration earlier this year approved expanded military operations against extremists in this long-fractured Horn of Africa nation.

Wednesday's statement said the latest airstrike was carried out Tuesday evening about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu, and occurred in coordination with Somalia's government.

Al-Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, has been blamed for the massive truck bombing in Mogadishu last month that killed more than 350 people. It was Somalia's worst-ever attack and one of the world's deadliest in years.

The Islamic State group has emerged in Somalia over the past two years and many of its fighters have defected from al-Shabab.