US airstrike kills 60 militants in Somalia

An recent airstrike in Somalia killed about 60 al Shabaab militants in the largest raid against the group in nearly a year, the US military has said.

The US military has said it has carried out its deadliest airstrike against the al Shabab extremist group in Somalia in nearly a year, killing about 60 fighters.

The US Africa Command said Friday's airstrike occurred near the community of Harardere in Mudug province in the central part of the country.

The statement says no civilians were injured or killed.

It was the largest such US strike since a raid on November 21 2017, killed around 100 al Shabab fighters.

The US military has carried out more than two dozen air strikes, including drone strikes, this year against the al Qaida-linked al Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in sub-Saharan Africa.

Somalia on Sunday marked the first anniversary of al Shabab's deadliest attack, a lorry bombing in Mogadishu that killed well over 500 people.