Cuban doctors held hostage by al-Shabaab terrorists killed in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia

Two Cuban doctors held captive by the Somali-based terrorist group al-Shabaab were killed in a US airstrike, the militant outfit claimed on Saturday.

The al-Qaeda-affiliated terror group claimed in a Telegram statement that the doctors were killed in a US air raid in Somalia's southern state of Jubaland on Thursday.

“The aerial bombardment which began at around 12:10 a.m. targeted a house in Jilib, instantly killing Assel Herrera and Landy Rodriguez,” the statement said.

The terrorist group blamed the US for "deliberately targeting the prisoners for several years and have conducted strikes" in at least two locations before Thursday's airstrike in Jilib town.

"We neither confirm nor deny the terrorist group's claims," a local official told Anadolu over the phone, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

On April 12, 2019, the al-Shabaab terrorists kidnapped the Cuban doctors while on their way to work in Kenya's northeastern province, killing one of their bodyguards in the process.

Meanwhile, the Somali Defense Ministry said on Saturday that 15 al-Shabaab terrorists were killed and 20 others were injured during national army aerial operations in Lower Shabelle and Galguduud provinces.

The airstrikes, which were backed by unnamed international partners, targeted terrorists in Kuntu Waarey in Lower Shabelle and Galcad in Galguduud.

The strikes targeted al-Shabaab gatherings and terrorist assets, the ministry said in a brief statement.