WASHINGTON (Somaliguardian) – A CIA officer was reportedly killed in Somalia last weekend, according to a former senior Trump administration official with knowledge of the matter. The officer was wounded in an operation in the country’s south and later succumbed to injuries, sources quoted by US media said.
The identity of the officer has not been made public so far but sources said the officer was a former Navy SEAL.
The death comes several weeks after Al-Shabaab claimed killing one US soldier and wounding another in a joint Somali and American special forces overnight raid on militant-controlled town of Gardarshe, some 48 km south of the capital Mogadishu. The group released photos it purported to show ammunition and human remains left behind by the allied troops reportedly targeted by a suicide car bomb attack.
Four US-trained Somali soldiers were killed in the blast with three others wounded, Al-Shabaab claimed at the time, an assertion the federal government and US Africa Command have yet to comment.
Over the past few weeks, there have been reports of current US administration considering withdrawing more than 700 special forces from Somalia before president-elect Joe Biden assumes office on January.
US special forces have been embedded with the Somali National Army, actively participating in allied troops’ operations against the militant group Al-Shabaab, which still controls large swathes of territory in south and central Somalia.
The CIA declined to comment. The New York Times first reported the death of the CIA officer, which adds to a number of American soldiers killed in combat engagements with fighters of the militant group Al-Shabaab, which the US believes poses significant threat to the west and its interests.
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