According to Washington, the American military has killed a regional leader of the jihadist militia "Islamic State" (IS) in Somalia.
According to senior government officials, the attack ordered by President Joe Biden killed Bilal al-Sudani and ten other IS fighters on Wednesday.
Al-Sudani encouraged ISIS's "growing presence" in Africa and was responsible for funding the "militia's global operations," including Afghanistan.
According to government officials, al-Sudani was killed in an exchange of fire after soldiers entered a mountainous cave complex in northern Somalia to arrest him.
No soldier was killed in the operation.
Only one soldier was injured after being bitten by a military service dog.
According to Washington, Sudani was involved in recruiting and training fighters for the Islamist al-Shabab militia in Somalia ten years ago before joining IS.
The government representative explained that the aim of the access by the military in Somalia, which had been prepared for months, was to arrest al-Sudani.
However, the "hostile reaction" by the IS fighters ultimately led to their killing.
US forces have long been active in Somalia in coordination with and on behalf of the government in Mogadishu.
The US Air Force regularly flies airstrikes in support of state forces fighting al-Shabab militants, some of which are believed to be conducted from a base in Djibouti, north of Somalia.