52 Al-Shabaab militants were on Saturday killed in Somalia by United States military forces.
According to a statement by the US Africa command, the militants had staged an attack at a Somali army base.
“US Africa Command conducted the airstrike in response to an attack by a large group of Al-Shabaab militants against Somali National Army Forces. We currently assess this airstrike killed fifty-two militants," the statement said.
The militants had raided the base early in the morning with heavy weaponry.
"The terrorists attacked Bulogagdud military base using heavy weaponry and explosives. The Somali military and Jubaland forces resisted the enemy before later retreating back from the base," a soldier told AFP.
The attack came days after Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the DusitD2 attack in Kenya’s capital Nairobi which left up to 21 people dead.
Six heavily armed gunmen stormed the complex and went on a shooting spree before Kenya’s security apparatus responded.
The attackers made their entry into the premise on Tuesday minutes after 3pm moments after a suicide bomber had detonated his vest outside a restaurant.
There was, however, a swift response by security forces which cornered the attackers and rescued hundreds of Kenyans who had been held hostage.