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The United States military conducted a raid in northern Somalia that killed a top ISIS leader and at least ten operatives. President Joe Biden was briefed on the plan last week and gave the final go-ahead on the mission after "ensuring that key questions that he had about the risk to our forces and the impact of the operation on potential civilians in the area had been answered to his satisfaction."
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that Bilal al-Sudani, who was sanctioned in 2012 for helping recruit and transport foreign fighters to terrorist training camps in Somalia, was killed in the attack. Officials said that al-Sudani was helping fund the expansion of the terrorist organization into Africa and Afghanistan.
No civilians were injured or killed in the attack. The only injury sustained by U.S. troops was the result of an accidental dog bite from one of their own service dogs.
"This action leaves the United States and its partners safer and more secure, and it reflects our steadfast commitment to protecting Americans from the threat of terrorism at home and abroad," Austin said in a statement. "We are grateful to our extraordinary service members as well as our intelligence community and other interagency partners for their support to this successful counterterrorism operation."