United States’ Pentagon has issued a statement refuting claims by the Islamist extremist militia operating in Somalia al-Shabab that a US drone crashed in southwestern parts of Somalia.
News about a US drone crashing in Somalia and falling into the hands of the al-Shabab has been doing round across the pro-al-Shabab sites. The news indicates that the drone was armed with six missiles when it crashed in the rebel-controlled village of Shanda’ar in Gedo region of Somalia.
Al-Shabab made a statement on their local radio station claiming the drone is currently in their possession, and they have hidden it in a safe location. So far, there has been no official statement from the Somalia government.
Pentagon in an email statement to VOA said, “All AFRICOM assets in this area are accounted for, and we have no indication any were involved in this reported incident.”
An official from the Somalia government told VOA on condition of anonymity that the government received news about the crashed drone, but have not yet verified who owns it.
The official said, “We heard about the news, and we know that drones and war planes have been operating in the region since the last month attack on the military base, which was run by Kenyan troops who are part of the African Union, but we cannot verify whose drone it was.”
The United States military has been conducting aerial attacks using a drone to attack the al-Shabab camps for the past several years. There has been a numerous high profile al-Shabab leaders take outs by the US drones.