A U.S. military operation into a Somalian cave complex killed senior ISIS operative Bilal al-Sudani on Thursday, along with the lives of another 10 Islamic State associates, according to U.S authorities. Al-Sudani was “a key operative and facilitator for ISIS’s global network,” according to senior administration officials that spoke with The New York Times. The special raid into Somalia’s mountainous, northern territory was months in the making, according to news outlet Voice of America. “Al-Sudani was responsible for fostering the growing presence of ISIS in Africa and for funding the group’s operations worldwide, including in Afghanistan,” said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a statement. “No civilians were harmed as a result of the operations.”