a contingent of elite American troops acting as military advisers assisted Somali commandos in an assault on an al-Shabaab checkpoint in Saakow, as the Somali-led force approached the checkpoint the militants opened fire, a gun battle ensued that resulted in 3 militants killed. On 29 September 2016, the Military Times reported that on 26 September a bomb-manufacturing network linked al-Shabaab attacked a small team of U.S. and Somali troops, who were conducting an operation near Kismayo, with small-arms fire. A Pentagon spokesman said the U.S. military "conducted a self-defense strike to neutralize the threat and in doing so killed nine enemy fighters." Also on 28 September, near the town of Galkayo, a Somali army unit conducting counterterrorism operations nearby, when the Somali soldiers came under fire from al-Shabab militants. The Somali soldiers engaged them, then broke contact and rejoined with their nearby American advisers and soon afterwards the militants "began to maneuver in an offensive manner" so the U.S. conducted a self-defense airstrike, killing 4 militants. Drone attacks On 25 June 2011, U.S. Predator drones attacked a Shabaab training camp south of Kismayo. Ibrahim al-Afghani, a senior al Shabaab leader was rumored to be killed in the strike. On 6 September 2011, a U.S. drone struck a large Al-Shabaab base, killing 35 militants. A drone strike on 17 September killed 17 militants. A U.S. drone strike occurred near Mogadishu on 21 January 2012, killing British al-Qaeda operative Bilal el-Berjawi. 4 Al-Shabaab fighters, including a white Kenyan and a Moroccan jihadist named Abu Ibrahim, were killed in a drone strike in the K60 area (60 miles south of Mogadishu) of the Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia late on 24 February 2012. United States military fatalities 27 U.S. servicemen have been killed in non-hostile incidents in Djibouti since the start of operations in the Horn of Africa. Four U.S. soldiers were killed in accidents in Kenya. Two U.S. soldiers were killed in a vehicle accident in Ethiopia. Two U.S. servicemen were killed in the Republic of Seychelles and in the Gulf of Oman, respectively. See also Operation Atalanta Manhunt (military) Baraawe raid References External links Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa / Djibouti Global Security. Djibouti Base Global Security. Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) Global Security. Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa Official U.S. Military web site USCGC Munro and UK Navy US And UK