US President Donald Trump said that airstrikes were carried out on his orders against "Islamic State" targets in Somalia, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The target of the US operation was a high-ranking leader who is involved in planning attacks, as well as other terrorists from the jihadist group.
"These killers, who we found hiding in caves, were threatening the United States and our allies," Trump said on the social network "Truth Social". "The strikes destroyed the caves where they were living and killed many terrorists, without harming civilians in any way", the American president added.
Meanwhile, the office of the Somali head of state said that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had been informed of the airstrikes by the US military, aimed at the senior leadership of "Islamic State" in the north of the country.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegsett said that today's military operation was carried out in the Golis Mountains. According to initial reports, several Islamist fighters were killed and there were no civilian casualties, Hegsett added.
Reuters notes that it was unable to independently verify these data.
According to the US Secretary of Defense, the strikes reduced the capacity of "Islamic State" to "plan and carry out terrorist attacks".
"(This) is a clear signal that the United States is always ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies," Hegseth stressed.
The US military has been conducting periodic airstrikes in Somalia for years. Last year, the US, in coordination with Somalia, attacked "Islamic State" targets and killed three militants.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke by phone with his US counterpart Donald Trump, with the two leaders agreeing on the need to consolidate the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian head of state's office reported, quoted by Reuters and BTA.
Sisi and Trump held a "positive conversation", in which they stressed the importance of fully implementing the conditions of the first and second phases of the ceasefire in Gaza, as well as the need to increase humanitarian aid supplies to the Palestinian enclave, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.
However, the text does not mention whether Trump's statement that Egypt and Jordan should accept Palestinians from Gaza was discussed. The 15-month Israeli military operation in Gaza has left most of the 2.3 million people homeless, Reuters notes.
Critics of Trump's proposal to relocate Palestinians said it amounted to ethnic cleansing.
Sisi on Wednesday rejected the idea, calling it an "act of injustice." The next day, however, Trump repeated his call. "We do a lot for them and they will do it," Trump said, apparently referring to US aid to Egypt and Jordan.
A meeting of foreign ministers from some Arab countries was held in Cairo on Monday, with senior diplomats rejecting the possibility of relocating Palestinians from Gaza. The forum participants warned that such a move would threaten regional stability, widen the conflict and undermine prospects for peace.
Sisi and Trump expressed in their phone call today the desire to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. The Egyptian president invited his American counterpart to Cairo to discuss problems in the Middle East, Sisi's office added. The two presidents also discussed the need to strengthen economic and investment ties between the United States and Egypt.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to the United States on Sunday to meet with President Donald Trump, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA, citing a press release from the Israeli prime minister's office.
Netanyahu has been invited to visit Trump at the White House on Tuesday, with the two leaders expected to discuss the situation in Gaza, the hostages held by "Hamas" and the confrontation with Iran and its regional allies, the text states.