The promise and perils of America\u2019s counterterrorism campaign were on full display at a remote training base in central Somalia.<\/p>\n
It was graduation day for 346 recruits who would join an elite Somali commando unit trained by the State Department, advised by U.S. Special Operations forces, and backed by American air power.<\/p>\n
Since last August, the unit, called Danab, has spearheaded a string of Somali army victories against Al Shabab, an Islamist terrorist group that is considered\u00a0the deadliest<\/a>\u00a0of Al Qaeda\u2019s global branches.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re more dedicated than ever,\u201d said Second Lt. Shukri Yusuf Ali, 24, who joined the unit two years ago as one of its few female members and was recently selected to attend the U.S. Army infantry training course at Fort Benning, Ga.<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nearly two decades after the rise of Al Shabab, Somalia is the most active front in the \u201cforever wars\u201d that the United States has been waging against Islamist extremists since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks https:\/\/t.co\/MImvQabjRM<\/a><\/p>\n — Eric Schmitt (@EricSchmittNYT) February 27, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n