After a long pause, the US drone war in Somalia appears to be back on. For the second time this week, the US launched an airstrike on Friday in Somalia against al-Shabaab.

Pentagon spokesperson Cindi King said the strike targeted fighters near Qeycad, Galmudug, Somalia. She said US forces were "conducting a remote advise and assist mission in support of designated Somali partner forces" and added that no US troops were on the ground for the operation.

The Pentagon offered no further details, but the US-backed Somali government claimed the strike "destroyed al Shabaab fighters and weapons with zero civilian casualties." The US almost always claims no civilians are harmed by its operations in Somalia, but whenever journalists make it to the scene, they usually find that civilians were killed.