An air strike in Somalia has killed four members of the al-Shabab extremist group and destroyed a vehicle carrying explosives near the capital, the US military said.

The air strike, about 25 kilometres west of Mogadishu, prevented the bomb from being used against residents of the capital, the statement from the US Africa Command said.

Al-Shabab was blamed for a massive truck bombing in Mogadishu in October that killed 512 people.

The US has carried out 35 drone strikes in Somalia this year against al-Shabab and a small but growing presence of Islamic State-linked fighters.

Early this year, the Trump administration approved expanded military operations in the Horn of Africa nation.

The US statement said it assessed that no civilians were killed in the strike.

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