U.S. military airstrike in Somalia kills 4 al-Shabab fighters

The U.S. military says it has conducted an airstrike that killed four al-Shabab extremists after “partner forces came under small arms fire.”
The U.S. Africa Command says the Oct. 14 airstrike was carried out near the community of Araara in Lower Juba region in the south.
The statement says no U.S. service members were on the ground during the Somali-led operation and that according to its assessment no civilians were injured or killed in the airstrike.
The U.S. military has carried out more than two dozen airstrikes, including drone strikes, this year against the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in sub-Saharan Africa.
Somalia on Sunday marked the first anniversary of al-Shabab’s deadliest attack, a truck bombing in the capital, Mogadishu, that killed well over 500 people. AP
 

Defense contractors Harris, L3 Technologies to merge

Defense contractors Harris Corp. and L3 Technologies are combining to form one of the world’s largest defense companies.
The new company, L3 Harris Technologies Inc., will have annual sales of around $16 billion this year. That would make it the sixth-largest U.S. defense contractor and one of the top 10 globally.
The company will employ 48,000 people and will have headquarters in Melbourne, Fla., where Harris is currently based. L3 is based in New York.
The boards of both companies agreed to the all-stock merger.
L3 and Harris are longtime competitors that make similar products, including satellites for surveillance and broadband communications systems for the military and police.
The companies say they expect to achieve $500 million in annual pretax cost synergies by the third year of the merger. AP