U.S. military - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Houthi missiles fired at ship in Red Sea, U.S. military says

YEMEN'S Iran-aligned Houthi group fired missiles at a Liberian-flagged container ship in the Red Sea but did not hit the vessel, the U.S. Central Command said. Two anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired at the Pinocchio from Yemeni territory, CENTCOM said, resulting in no damage or injuries. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea earlier on Tuesday said the group had targeted and hit the ship, which he described as "American". The Pinocchio is a Liberian-flagged container ship owned by Singapore-registered company OM-MAR 5 INC, according to shipping databases operated by Equasis and the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO). Sarea said the Houthi…

Sep

2023

By PHIL STEWART and IDREES ALI

Travis King: U.S. soldier released by North Korea arrives in Texas

WORLD

U.S. Army Private Travis King landed at a U.S. military base in Texas early after being expelled from North Korea following his surprise dash across the heavily militarized border two months ago, a U.S. defense official told Reuters. King arrived on a U.S. military flight, landing at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston at about 0530 GMT, the official said. Television footage showed a group of people leaving a plane at the base at that time. King is expected to undergo a medical review at Brooke Army Medical Center, a hospital at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. Basketball star Brittney Griner…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

U.S. military conducts first maritime drills with West African forces

NEWS

COOPER INVEEN THE West African troops silently pulled their small boats up to a rust-stained ferry and swarmed up its sides on grappling hooks to disarm the mock kidnappers onboard. The drill in Ghana's Volta river on Saturday was carried out during the first-ever maritime exercises organised by the U.S. military under its long-running Flintlock programme to bolster the skills of West African forces. The sea-based training in the first half of March culminated with soldiers holding their guns aloft as they braved neck-high waves before storming a beach resort to defuse a staged hostage crisis. Military bigwigs and diplomats watched from…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

U.S. may target Chinese entities linked to spy balloon

WORLD

HUMEYRA PAMUK, MICHAEL MARTINA and PATRICIA ZENGERLE THE United States will explore taking action against entities connected to China's military that supported the flight of a Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace last week, a senior State Department official said. Washington is confident that the manufacturer of the Chinese balloon, shot down by the U.S. military last weekend off the U.S. East Coast, has a "direct relationship" with the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the official said in a statement. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre echoed the notion that Washington would look at taking action, but the U.S. government has not…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

China urges restraint as U.S. military searches for balloon remnants

WORLD

YEW LUN TIAN and DAVID LAWDER BEIJING urged Washington to show restraint as the U.S. military searched for remnants of what it believes was a Chinese surveillance balloon it shot down over the Atlantic but which China says was a civilian craft that accidentally drifted astray. The balloon drama has further strained tense relations, prompting Washington to cancel a planned visit over the weekend to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. A U.S. fighter jet shot down the balloon off South Carolina on Saturday after the military had tracked its path across the continental United States, a response China…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

US kills Islamic State leader in Somalia

NEWS

THE U.S. military carried out an operation that killed a senior Islamic State leader in northern Somalia, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters that Bilal al-Sudani, a U.S.-designated ISIS leader in Somalia, was killed in the operation along with about 10 of his associates. They added that the operation was approved by President Joe Biden earlier this week and carried out within the past 24 hours. The officials declined to discuss the basic details of the operation. They declined to articulate any direct threat posed by Sudani to the United States,…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

U.S. says it killed two al Shabaab militants in Somalia airstrike

NEWS

THE U.S. military said it had killed two fighters from the al Shabaab militant group in an airstrike in a remote part of Somalia's southern Jubaland state on Sunday. The United States has been carrying out air strikes in Somalia to try to defeat al Shabaab, an al Qaeda franchise seeking to implement its interpretation of Islamic law and overthrow the country's Western-backed central government. The strike took place near Libikus in the Lower Juba region, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a statement late on Monday. "The command's initial assessment is that two al Shabaab terrorists were killed in…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. says Kabul drone strike killed 10 civilians, including children, in ‘tragic mistake’

WORLD

PHIL STEWART and IDREES ALI A drone strike in Kabul last month killed as many as 10 civilians, including seven children, the U.S. military has revealed, apologizing for what it called a "tragic mistake". The Pentagon had said the August 29 strike targeted an Islamic State suicide bomber who posed an imminent threat to U.S.-led troops at the airport as they completed the last stages of their withdrawal from Afghanistan. Even as reports of civilian casualties emerged, the top U.S. general had described the attack as "righteous". The head of U.S. Central Command, Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie, said that…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. military carries out second strike in Somalia

NEWS

THE U.S. military said it carried out an airstrike yesterday against al Shabaab militants in Somalia, in the second such action this week. The Pentagon said the strike took place in the vicinity of Galmudug, Somalia, and emphasized that no U.S. forces were accompanying Somali troops during the operation. It came just three days after a similar U.S. strike targeting the al Qaeda-linked Islamist group, which is seeking to topple the Somali government and impose its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. "U.S. forces are authorized to conduct strikes in support of combatant commander designated partner forces under collective self-defense,"…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Aspiring U.S. trans soldiers call on Biden to end military ban

LGBT+

HUGO GREENHALGH AS Joe Biden began his first full day as U.S. president-elect, a group of transgender military aspirants and campaign groups insisted that one of his first priorities must be to overturn a ban on new transgender personnel serving in the U.S. military. Biden captured the presidency on Saturday as voters narrowly rebuffed Republican incumbent Donald Trump's tumultuous leadership and embraced his promise to fight the coronavirus pandemic and fix the economy in a divided nation. Former Democrat President Barack Obama in 2016 allowed trans people to serve openly and receive medical care to transition genders, but in April…