US military kills senior Islamic State figure in Somalia raid
- Bilal al-Sudani was an Isis leader in Somalia and a key facilitator for the group’s global network
- US officials said the operation took place in a mountainous cave complex in northern Somalia
A US military raid in Somalia ordered by President Joe Biden killed a key regional leader of Islamic State, Bilal al-Sudani, US officials said on Thursday.
Sudani was killed during a gunfight after US troops descended on a mountainous cave complex in northern Somalia hoping to capture him, according to US officials.
Around 10 of Sudani’s Isis associates at the scene were killed, but there were no American casualties, the officials said.
“On January 25, on orders from the president, the US military conducted an assault operation in northern Somalia that resulted in the death of a number of Isis members, including Bilal al-Sudani,” Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
“Al-Sudani was responsible for fostering the growing presence of Isis in Africa and for funding the group’s operations worldwide, including in Afghanistan,” Austin said.
From his mountain base in northern Somalia, he provided and coordinated funding for Isis branches, not only in Africa but also Islamic-State Khorasan, the arm operating in Afghanistan, a US official said on condition of anonymity.
