Meanwhile, almost 2,000 assault rifles plus grenade launchers and heavy machine guns were seized by an Australian warship, the navy said Monday, part of international efforts to police the seas off Somalia.
Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said the US strike occurred on a camp called Raso, 195 kilometers north of Mogadishu.
“The fighters were there training and were training for a large-scale attack. We know they were going to be departing the camp and they posed an imminent threat to US and [African Union] forces,” Davis said.
“Initial assessments are that more than 150 terrorist fighters were eliminated,” he added, AFP reported.
Davis said the group had neared the completion of specialist training to conduct “offensive operations,” but he did not give any details about the assault the militants were allegedly planning.
“Their removal will degrade Al-Shabab’s ability to meet the group’s objectives in Somalia, which includes recruiting new members, establishing bases and planning attacks on US and AMISON [AU Mission to Somalia] forces there,” he said.
The training camp had been under surveillance for some time ahead of the drone strike.
“There was a sense that the operational phase was about to happen,” Davis said.