The March 5 airstrike on an al Shabaab training camp in Somalia is likely not the only time US forces will target the group inside that country as it stands up new facilities. Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of US Africa Command, told the Senate Armed Services committee on Tuesday that intelligence shows al Shabaab’s camps are mobile, and the group will likely stand up new facilities inside Somalia that could make for likely targets. US manned and unmanned aircraft on Saturday hit a training camp, reportedly killing more than 150 fighters who posed an immediate risk, the Pentagon said. Rodriguez told lawmakers there has been a “tactical change” on the ground in Somalia with an increase in al Shabaab fighters. US forces will support African Union Mission to Somalia forces inside the country to make sure the upswing is “temporary,” Rodriguez said.
Members of Congress from both parties expressed frustration and dismay over the abrupt and still-unexplained firing last month of Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh from his dual role as head of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency.