by Caitlyn Burchett at Stars and Stripes
The USS Harry S. Truman and its strike group launched the “largest airstrike in the history of the world” from an aircraft carrier during recent operations near Somalia, the Navy’s top admiral said Monday.
About 125,000 pounds of munitions were launched by the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group into the African country, Adm. James Kilby, the acting chief of naval operations, said while speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations’ Robert B. McKeon Endowed Series on Military Strategy and Leadership. The annual event brings together U.S. military service chiefs to discuss the future of the American defense strategy, military readiness and emerging global challenges.
U.S. Africa Command, which oversees military operations in the region, is launching airstrikes in Somalia at a record-setting pace as the military seeks to counter an influx of Islamic State group fighters, military figures show. Since January, AFRICOM has conducted 25 strikes in Somalia, many of which were directed at ISIS militants, according to command strike reports. If the intensity of the bombing campaign continues, AFRICOM will exceed the 63 strikes it launched in Somalia in 2019, the highest tally for the country in the command’s history.
The ISIS cell in Somalia has grown from about 500 fighters to 1,500 over the past 18 months, with roughly 60% being foreign, a spokesperson told Stars and Stripes this month.
“ISIS-Somalia has proven both its will and capability to attack U.S. forces…
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