Trump: I ordered airstrikes killing ISIS terrorists in Somalia

United States President Donald Trump said he ordered military airstrikes targeting a senior Islamic State attack planner and others from the organization in Somalia on Saturday, February 1, 2025.

Trump disclosed this via a post on X on Saturday.

He wrote: “This morning I ordered precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia.

“These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies. The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians.

“Our Military has targeted this ISIS Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did!

“The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that ‘WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!’”

Saturday’s strikes were carried out in the Golis Mountains, said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who added that an initial assessment indicated multiple operatives were killed.

He said no civilians were harmed.

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An official in the Somali president’s office, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the strikes and said Somalia’s government welcomed the move.

“Somalia cannot be a safe haven for terrorists,” the official told Reuters, adding that the impact of the strikes was still being assessed.

Hegseth said the strikes degrade Islamic State’s ability “to plot and conduct terrorist attacks” threatening the U.S., its partners and innocent civilians.

“It sends a clear signal that the United States always stands ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies, even as we conduct robust border-protection and many other operations under President Trump’s leadership,” he said in a statement.

The United States has periodically carried out airstrikes in Somalia for years, under Republican and Democratic administrations.

A strike, which also targeted Islamic State militants, was carried out by the U.S. in coordination with Somalia in 2024.

It killed three members of the group, the U.S. military said.

The Star