Washington: The United States killed a key Islamic State operative during a nighttime assault in northern Somalia, a senior administration official said.

“Last night, on orders from the president [Joe Biden], the US military conducted an assault operation in northern Somalia that resulted in the death of Bilal al-Sudani, a key operative and facilitator for ISIS’ global network, as well as a number of other ISIS operatives,” the senior administration official said on Thursday.

The operation resulted in neither US nor civilian casualties, the official said.

In addition to al-Sudani, the operation killed 10 other IS associates as well, the official said.

US forces were prepared to capture al-Sudani as part of the operation, but the assault ultimately resulted in his death, the official added.

(With UNI inputs)