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US military says airstrike killed civilian in Somalia

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The U.S. military on Tuesday acknowledged killing a civilian and wounding three others with an airstrike in Somalia earlier this year.

This is the second in a new series of quarterly reports the U.S. Africa Command issues on airstrikes in Somalia and allegations of civilian deaths after coming under pressure from Somalis and human rights groups.

The new report substantiates allegations around a Feb. 2. airstrike. At the time, the U.S. said one member of the al-Shabab extremist group was killed in the vicinity of Jilib.

“This admission is the third case they have substantiated in 13 years of airstrikes in the country,” Brian Castner, Amnesty International’s senior crisis adviser for arms and military operations, said in a statement. “Now that there has been an acknowledgment of their actions, there must be accountability and reparations for the victims and their families.”

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