An al-Shabaab facilitator who is suspected of being a lawful US resident was captured on Sunday during a joined U.S – Somali military raid on an al-shabaab target.
U.S Defence Official said a “known al-Shabaab facilitator and suspected lawful resident of the US was captured by the Somali National Security Forces.” One official called the capture “a target of opportunity” and said that the individual recently traveled to the United States. The official said the detainee is not an American citizen and that the military is working to confirm the nature of his US residency with US law enforcement.
Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in Somalia and the wider region.
“US forces are assisting partner forces to counter al-Shabaab in Somalia to degrade the al-Qaeda affiliate’s ability to recruit, train and plot external terror attacks throughout the region and in America,” US Africa Command, which oversees US troops in the region, said in a statement following the earlier operation in Kunyo Barrow, Somalia.
