US Military Carries out Operation against al Shabaab in Somalia

The U.S. military has carried out an operation against Islamic militant group al Shabaab in Somalia on Monday, Pentagon said.

Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby did not reveal more details about the operation.

"We are assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information as and when appropriate," Kirby said in a statement, reports Fox News.

A high security prison in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, was attacked on Sunday by seven Islamic militants who wanted to free extremists jailed there. However, the Somali military forces defeated them and regained control of the prison. The Pentagon did not say whether the U.S. action was connected to the attack on the prison by the militants.

Before the attack on the prison, a suicide bomber set off a bomb in a car after which other militants gained entry in to the prison.

The attack left three security guards and two civilians dead and 15 others injured, Security Ministry spokesman Mohamed Yusuf said, reports CNN.

Meanwhile, the African Union Mission (AMISOM) in Somalia proclaimed that the military forces have freed many major towns from the terrorists' grip.

"The Somali National Army supported by AMISOM forces have faced little resistance from their advancement as al Shabaab simply melted away when they heard the aligned forces are approaching," the mission said in a written statement, reports CNN.

The al Shabaab has links with the al Qaeda and the United States labeled it a foreign terrorist organization in March 2008.

The attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi last September was carried out by al Shabaab. The attack killed nearly 67 people.

al Shabaab wants to impose its strict version of Islam in Somalia and thus, make it a fundamentalist Islamic State.