US Army: 62 fighters killed in Somalia air strikes

The US military has said it killed 62 al-Shabab fighters in six air raids on Saturday and Sunday in the vicinity of Gandarsh in Somalia's south-central Banaadir province.

The military's Africa Command (Africom) said four strikes were carried out on Saturday, killing 34 militants, and two more on Sunday, which killed 28.

The United States carries out regular air strikes in Somalia in support of a U.N.-backed government there, which has been fighting against an al Shabaab insurgency for years.

"Africa Command and our Somali partners conducted these air strikes to prevent terrorists from using remote areas as a safe haven to plot, direct, inspire and recruit for future attacks," Africom said in a statement. The air strikes, among the deadliest this year, did not kill any civilians, the statement said. "At this time we assess these air strikes did not injure or kill any civilians." Last month, the U.S. military said it had killed 37 militants.