Johannesburg, Feb 27 (AP) The United States military says it has killed 20 fighters from the al-Shabab extremist group with an airstrike in central Somalia, a day after another airstrike in the area killed 35.

The US military command for the African continent says the attack occurred on Monday near Shebeeley in the Hiran region and targeted a training camp used as a staging area for attacks.

The US has dramatically increased airstrikes against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, Africa's deadliest extremist group, since President Donald Trump took office.

The US has carried out 23 strikes this year.

Authorities and experts acknowledge that it will take more than airstrikes to defeat the extremist group, which holds large parts of rural central and southern Somalia and carries out deadly suicide attacks in the capital, Mogadishu. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)