President Donald Trump on Friday shared his condolences to the family of a U.S. soldier that was killed in Somalia earlier in the day.
Trump also praised the soldier and the rest of his team from whom some were wounded, adding that they are real “HEROES” of America.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the families of our serviceman who was killed and his fellow servicemen who were wounded in Somalia [sic]. They are truly all HEROES,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
Trump’s tweet was posted just a few hours after the military officials announced that a Special Operations agent was killed and that one other service member had been wounded in an enemy attack.
“During an operation June 8, 2018, in Jubaland, Somalia, one U.S. Special Operations member was killed and four U.S. service members and one partner force was wounded as the result of an enemy attack,” U.S. Africa Command (Africom) said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the service members.”
In Somalia, U.S. forces working alongside Somali National Security Forces and Kenyan Defense Forces came under attack from mortar and small arms fire at about 2:45 p.m. local time, Africom said.
One of the injured U.S. service members was treated in the field, while the three other injured U.S. troops and injured partner troop were medically evacuated for further treatment, according to the statement.
Africom withheld the names of those killed and injured until next of kin is notified.
The statement does not specify who carried out the attack, but reports say the al Qaeda-affiliated Al Shabaab is suspected.
Al Shabaab claimed Friday it mounted a “fierce attack” on a joint U.S.-Somali base near the city of Kismayo, killing or injuring five Americans, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.
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