Key Islamic State leader killed in US military operation in Somalia

U.S. special operations forces this week killed Bilal al-Sudani, an Islamic State leader operating in northern Somalia, senior administration officials announced on Thursday.

Al-Sudani and 10 Islamic State group associates died in the raid. Conversely, no American personnel or civilians were injured in the operation, officials said.

Administration officials said that al-Sudani was a key figure in funding Islamic State Group cells around the globe and actively working to expand the group’s operational power. They describe him as “a terrorist of significance” and said intelligence gathered in the raid will help inform future counter-terrorism efforts.

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Troops involved in the mission had hoped to capture al-Sudani alive, but officials with knowledge of the operation said that the “hostile force response” to the action prevented that.

Administration officials did not release how many troops took part in the raid. They did confirm that military working dogs were part of the force deployed to go after al-Sudani.

Earlier on Thursday, United States Africa Command said in a news release that military forces “conducted a successful counterterrorism operation in Somalia” in a remote area of the country. They did not release further details.

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Last May, U.S. military forces in the region shifted from a part-time presence in the country to a “persistent” deployment of several hundred troops.

Both the Islamic State and al-Shabab extremist groups operate in the region. U.S. officials have worked in recent years to try and oversee ungoverned spaces in the country that terrorists can use as a base of operations for future attacks.

The Defense Department is expected to release future details of the operation in coming days.