The statement stated that the strike hit the target 45 kilometers (27.9 miles) northwest of the city of Kismayo.
"The collective self-defense airstrike was conducted in the early morning hours of Aug. 26, in support of Somali National Army forces who were engaged by the terrorist organization. Working with the Somali National Army, US Africa Command’s initial assessment is that the airstrike killed 13 al Shabaab fighters and that no civilians were injured or killed," the command said in a statement.
Al-Shabaab is a Somalia-based jihadist militant group linked to al-Qaeda* terrorist group. It wages armed resistance against the Somali government and obstructs UN humanitarian missions in the country.
The United States has an estimated 450 troops stationed in Somalia, most stationed at Baledogle Airfield, roughly 56 miles from the capital Mogadishu.
al-Qaeda is banned in Russia for terrorism