US airstrike kills over 100 al Shabaab militants in Somalia

Somali security officers assess the scene of a suicide car bomb explosion, at the gate of Naso Hablod Two Hotel in Hamarweyne district of Mogadishu, Somalia October 29, 2017. REUTERS
Somali security officers assess the scene of a suicide car bomb explosion, at the gate of Naso Hablod Two Hotel in Hamarweyne district of Mogadishu, Somalia October 29, 2017. REUTERS

The US military said it killed more than 100 Islamist militants in

Somalia

on Tuesday when it launched an air strike against al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked insurgent group that wants to topple the UN-backed government.

The military's Africa Command said the strike was carried out on a camp 125 miles (201 km) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu and that the United States would continue to target militants.

The strike was done in coordination with

Somalia's federal government, the Pentagon said.

US air strikes killing such a large number of militants in

Somalia

are rare, but not unprecedented. In March 2016, a US air strike killed more than 150 al Shabaab fighters in

Somalia.

Somalia's state news agency SONNA reported late on Tuesday that "about 100 militants" were killed when US planes and Somali commandos attacked al Shabaab bases in the Bur Elay area of Bay region.

Al Shabaab spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab denied the attack. "It is just ... propaganda," he told Reuters in

Somalia.

Al Shabaab is fighting to topple

Somalia’s Western-backed transitional federal government and impose its own rule on the Horn of Africa country.

Earlier this month, the US warned of a threat to its diplomatic staff in Mogadishu and directed all non-essential staff to leave the capital.

Al Shabaab has lost control of most of

Somalia’s cities and towns since it was pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011. But it retains a strong presence in parts of the south and center and carries out gun and bomb attacks.

"Al-Shabaab has publicly committed to planning and conducting attacks against the US and our partners in the region," the US military statement said.

Al Shabaab aims to topple

Somalia's government, drive out African Union peacekeeping troops and impose its own harsh interpretation of Islamic law.

Earlier this month, the US military also carried out its first strikes against Islamic State militants in

Somalia

and said it killed "several terrorists."

WATCH: The latest videos from the Star