The Russian base was built using new construction technologies as part of Kremlin efforts to bolster the military amid spiraling tensions with the West following Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
The American commando raid that bagged Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was launched from the sprawling al-Asad airbase in Anbar province Iraq, according to a source on the ground with direct knowledge of the operation.
The new runway repairs appear to be stepping up the capabilities of the airfield at Camp Baledogle, and could be the harbinger of an expanding U.S. foot print in Somalia.