JOHANNESBURG — The United States military says it has killed 35 fighters from the al-Shabaab extremist group with an airstrike in central Somalia, not far from the Ethiopian border.

In a statement Monday, the U.S. military command for the African continent said the airstrike took place on Sunday about 23 miles east of Beledweyne in the Hiran region and targeted the fighters as they were traveling in a rural area.

The U.S. has dramatically increased airstrikes against the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, the deadliest extremist group in Africa, since President Donald Trump took office.

Authorities and experts acknowledge that it will take more than airstrikes to defeat the extremist group, which continues to hold large parts of rural central and southern Somalia and carry out deadly attacks in the capital, Mogadishu.