African News: US Says Somalia Air Strike Killed Allies, Not Al-Shabab
African News, East/Central Africa Friday, November 11th, 2016
An airstrike in Somalia that the US said had targeted al-Shabab actually killed 10 members of an allied local militia, US media report, quoting an unpublished Pentagon investigation.
The US says it carried out the September strike to protect Puntland forces who came under fire during an operation against al-Shabab militants.
The strike sparked anti-American protests among local communities.
The Somali army said the dead were civilians and Galmudug regional forces.
The US has denied that any civilians were killed in the attack.
“If we had known who they were, we would have done everything we could to prevent it,” an unnamed US military official told the Washington Post, discussing the unpublished report, which has also been seen by Reuters news agency.
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