DJIBOUTI (SD)-The U.S. military has stated that it is not responsible for the reported killing of two Cuban doctors, for which al-Shabab has accused the U.S. of killing them in a U.S. airstrike on February 15 of this year.

The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed in their quarterly assessment that they conducted an airstrike in the vicinity of Jilib on February 15. However, they stated that their evaluation and subsequent review determined that the airstrike carried out by U.S. forces on February 15 did not result in any civilian casualties.

AFRICOM also mentioned that they completed assessments of two other incidents that occurred on January 25 and February 22 of this year, near Galhareeri and Kurtunwaarey, respectively, which had been accused of causing civilian harm due to U.S. airstrikes.

The U.S. stated that after assessment and review, they found that no U.S. operations were conducted at the specified times and locations.

AFRICOM noted that there is an ongoing case still under evaluation, and its details will be included in the next assessment.

The two doctors, Assel Herrera and Landy Rodriguez, were abducted by Al-Shabaab in April 2019 in northeastern Kenya.