Somalia airstrike kills five militants

At least five members of the Islamist militant group al-Shabab have been killed during an airstrike launched by the US military.

This comes a day after it said four jihadists were killed in a similar attack.

The United States Africa Command (Africom) has released a statement opposing social media reports of civilian casualties.

Africom said that it does not believe any civilians were injured in the attacks.

According to the BBC, an al-Shabab commander who had co-ordinated attacks on military targets was said to have been killed in another airstrike over the weekend.

These attacks by the US military have become increasingly common under Donald Trump's presidency, but they are often followed by reports from inside Somalia that civilians have been hit.

See a copy of Africom's statement: