Cuban doctors held captive in Somalia killed by US drone strike: Al-Shabaab

Cuban doctors

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Two Cuban doctors held hostage in Somalia by the militant group Al-Shabaab were killed in a US drone strike in the town of Jilib on Thursday, the Al-Qaeda affiliate said in a Telegram statement on Saturday.

“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 reads.

The insurgent group accused the United States of “deliberately targeting the prisoners for several years”, claiming that US had previously carried out a number of other air raids in at least two locations with the intention of killing the doctors.

A Somali official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu Agency that “we neither confirm nor deny the terrorist group’s claims.”

Al-Shabaab kidnapped the Cuban doctors on April 12, 2019 while they were on their way to work in Kenya’s northeastern province.

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