The United States launched four airstrikes in northern Somalia, targeting members of the country’s Islamic State branch. The mission was disclosed on Saturday by both US Africa Command and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It is the Trump administration’s first military engagement in Somalia; during his previous presidency, the country was subjected to significant aircraft bombardment.

Hegseth stated that the strikes took place in Somalia’s Puntland state in the north, specifically in the Gholis mountains. AFRICOM stated the strikes killed “multiple” ISIS operatives, but did not specify who they were. President Donald Trump stated on social media that the operation targeted a key ISIS planner. The particular military assets employed were not mentioned, although AFRICOM issued images of Carrier Air Wing 1 operating on the USS Harry S. Truman along with its announcement. That air wing, along with the Truman Carrier Strike Group, has been operating in the Red Sea and other waterways surrounding Yemen and Somalia for several weeks as part of the military’s campaign against the Houthi movement in Yemen.

AFRICOM stated that no civilians were harmed in its first evaluation, but provided no further information about the action. The administration of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud also acknowledged the airstrikes on X, saying he had been briefed by the US. The airstrikes follow an airstrike in northwest Syria on January 30 that killed a leader of the al-Qaeda offshoot group Hurras-al-Din. This was Trump’s first announced military action.

During Trump’s first presidency, the US conducted a total of 219 drone strikes, airstrikes, and special operations missions in Somalia. His first term saw a significant increase in the number of drone strikes compared to his predecessor, Barack Obama, who extended the drone war beyond George W. Bush.