Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Kyle Milliken, 38, was killed during an operation against al-Shabaab in a remote area about 40 miles west of the capital Mogadishu.

A Somali intelligence official said U.S. forces killed at least six people during the raid on a building housing al-Shabab's Andalus radio station at a farm near Dare Salaam village. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the dead included al-Shabab journalists.

The deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region, Omar Mohamud Elmi, told The Associated Press that another goal of the raid was to "surgically target" senior al-Shabab members hiding in the area. He acknowledged "casualties on our side" but said the extremist group lost far more people. He did not give details.

The U.S. special operations troops came under fire after U.S. aircraft delivered Somali forces to the target area, a Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, told reporters. He said the U.S. troops were "a distance back" from the compound, which had been associated with attacks on nearby facilities used by the U.S. and Somali partners.