NAIROBI — The US military said Monday that it carried out six airstrikes over the weekend against the extremist group Al Shabab in a coastal region south of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, killing 62 fighters.

It said there were no collateral civilian casualties.

The strikes bring the total over the course of 2018 to 46, higher than last year’s 31, which was a record. The Trump administration has loosened the US military’s rules of engagement, allowing it to seek out militants and preemptively strike them, leading to more frequent air raids. More than 300 Al Shabab fighters have been killed in this year’s strikes.

All six airstrikes were ‘‘conducted to prevent Al Shabab from using remote areas as a safe haven to plot, direct, inspire, and recruit for future attacks,’’ the military’s statement said. A strike in October killed 60 fighters, and another in November 2017 killed about 100.

Al Shabab controls rural areas across southern Somalia, where it has instituted a strict interpretation of sharia law.

Al Shabab has carried out numerous suicide bombings, often in the heart of Mogadishu. A particular devastating one in October 2017 killed more than 500 people.

The US military has stationed about 500 troops in Somalia, most of whom are Special Operations forces, including Green Berets, Marine Raiders, and Navy SEALs.

Washington Post