Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USSOM058

Incident date

June 21, 2016

Location

South-central, Bay, Somalia

Geolocation

3.170679, 44.588176 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Province/governorate level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

The US conducted “a self-defence strike against al Shabaab, killing three” in southern Somalia, describing the action as having “provided defensive fires to protect U.S. troops from imminent threats posed by the terrorist group al-Shabaab.”

A statement from US Africa Command (Africom) issued at the time said “the operation was conducted after it was assessed the terrorists were planning and preparing to conduct an imminent attack against US forces.”

Writing about the incident, The Hill noted that “There are about 50 U.S. forces on the ground in Somalia, in support of partner forces fighting al-Shabab militants. The strike comes amid a new assessment by IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre that said over the course of 2015 and 2016, al-Shabab has “been expanding capabilities and increasing the tempo of attacks.”

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident only mention that the strike took place in South-central Somalia, for which the generic coordinates are: 3.170679, 44.588176. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    3

Sources (3) [ collapse]

US Forces Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • US Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

US Forces

"On June 21, 2016 in southern Somalia U.S. forces conducted a self-defense strike against al-Shabaab, killing three. The operation was conducted after it was assessed the terrorists were planning and preparing to conduct an imminent attack against U.S. forces."

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    3

Sources (3) [ collapse]