Washington has not officially admitted to operating drones from Somali territory, with drone flights said to originate from US bases in the neighboring Djibouti, and outposts in Kenya and Ethiopia. The US also has an outpost in the Seychelles, an archipelago some 800 miles off the Somali coast.

“The exact nature of this support, weapons systems or number of personnel involved in these operations cannot be disclosed in order to protect the integrity of these operations and the safety of units in the region,”