A US counter-terrorism operation in northern Somalia killed a senior Islamic State (ISIS) figure Bilal-al-Sudani, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed in a statement on Thursday. No civilians were harmed as a result of this operation that killed a number of other ISIS members in the assault operation that the US conducted on orders from President Joe Biden.

"On January 25, on orders from the President, the U.S. military conducted an assault operation in northern Somalia that resulted in the death of a number of ISIS members, including Bilal-al-Sudani, an ISIS leader in Somalia and a key facilitator for ISIS's global network. Al-Sudani was responsible for fostering the growing presence of ISIS in Africa and for funding the group's operations worldwide, including in Afghanistan," the official release of the US Department of Defense quoted Austin as saying.