On the 24th of February, 2024, the Federal Government of Somalia released a statement claiming that attacks by Somali government forces and international partner forces, conducted early in the morning of the same day, had killed 30 Al-Shabaab militants at a meeting point in the village of Jilib Marka, in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia. However, multiple sources pointed to US involvement in the strikes, with one referring to it as a “drone strike”.

According to Halqabsi News, reporting on the 24th of February, the Somali government statement specified that the forces involved in the operation had “targeted a gathering of Al-Shabaab” and also “confiscated a military cache used in their operations” after actionable intelligence had been obtained. Halqabsi News reported that the operation had included an airstrike and that the attacks had been conducted before dawn.

A similar report on the attack from the Shabelle Media Network, also dated the 24th of February, contained the headline “Suspected U.S. airstrike kills at least 30 Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia”. The news site AxAdle (February 24th) more specifically classified the attack as a drone strike, stating that it was “the second strike by the U.S. Africa Command in collaboration with the Somali National Army”.

On the same day, Halbeeg News stated that the operation had led to the destruction of vehicles in the Al-Shabaab ‘base’ and further noted that “the government also claimed to have killed ring leaders”.