The US conducted a pair of drone strikes against Islamic State fighters in Somalia on Friday, the first time America has struck the jihadists in the Horn of Africa nation, officials said.

The strikes occurred in northeastern Somalia and killed "several terrorists," the US military's Africa Command said in a statement.

"No civilians were in the vicinity of the strikes," said AFRICOM spokesman Lieutenant Commander Anthony Falvo. 

"They struck their intended targets," he added, noting these were the first anti-IS air strikes in Somalia.