Kidnapped Cuban doctors would have died in a drone strike in Somalia

The Arab group al-Shabaab, through its Telegram channel, reported the possible death of two Cuban doctors, Surgeon Landy Rodriguez and General Practitioner Asel HerreraKidnapping in Somalia since 2019.

Rodriguez and Herrera were killed Thursday in a United States drone strike inside the city of Jilib, a stronghold of al-Shabaab militants, according to information released by militants from that Arab organization.

Independent news site Garowe online has echoed the news, though he assured that he was not able to verify its veracity. However, some Arab media and African journalists copied the information.

Garowe online It also said that the above-mentioned attacks are often carried out by US troops, although they highlighted that “only two terrorists were killed in the most recent operation and no civilian casualties.”

Regarding the incident, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a short message on its X social network account, stating that the information about the death of the two Cuban doctors “has not been confirmed” and that “Cuban authorities are in permanent communication with them. The Kenyan and Somali counterparts , and our people will be informed immediately.

In April 2019, Cuban doctors were kidnapped. The doctors, part of a contingent of a hundred Cuban professionals who arrived in Kenya in 2018, were traveling in a convoy to Mandera Hospital protected by armed escorts when they were stopped after a shootout that killed a police officer. They ensured their safety.

Since then, The Kenyan government assured that efforts are being made to rescue themBut the efforts were unsuccessful.