Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USSOM100

Incident date

November 11, 2017

Location

Osman Gaduud, Lower Shabelle, Somalia

Geolocation

1.83944, 44.61244 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

US forces carried out a strike against al Shabaab at approximately 1630 local time on November 11, US Africa Command said. It made no mention of civilian harm.

However, AFRICOM stated that the strike killed a single fighter, and that it took place near Gaduud, located 250 miles southwest of the capital, Mogadishu.

This and the four additional strikes between November 9th and November 12th killed “more than 40 terrorists,” a Pentagon spokesperson told reporters on November 13th. He did not say how many people were killed in which of the five strikes, “for operational reasons,” an Africom spokesperson told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism on November 15.

“Prior to this strike, US forces observed the al-Shabaab combatant participating in attacks on a US and Somali convoy,” an Africom spokesperson told the Bureau. “US forces subsequently conducted the strike under collective self-defense authorities.”

CNN reported that the single fighter was killed in a strike after he attacked a US convoy: “One of the five strikes in Somalia killed an al-Shabaab fighter who had attacked a joint US-Somali military convoy in Gaduud, Somalia, which is about 250 miles from the capital Mogadishu. The attack on the convoy involved ‘ineffective’ small arms fire and resulted in no US personnel being killed or wounded, Robyn Mack, a spokesperson for Africa Command, told CNN.”

In a subsequent FOIA response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, AFRICOM confirmed it had struck on this date what it says were al Shabaab fighters, in the vicinity of Mubaraak.

The incident occured at approximately 4:30 pm local time.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention that the strike took place near the village Gaduud in the vicinity of the village of Mubaraak (مبارك). The coordinates for Gaduud (or Osman Gaduud) are: 1.83944, 44.61244.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    1

Sources (6) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • CGTN Africa Live report on November 13th 2017, on recent US strikes in Somalia

US Forces Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

US Forces

In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Somalia against al-Shabaab on Saturday, Nov. 11 at approximately 4:30 p.m. local Somalia time, killing one enemy combatant.

The operation occurred near Gaduud, about 250 miles southwest of the capital, Mogadishu.

Prior to this strike, U.S. forces observed the al-Shabaab combatant participating in attacks on a U.S. and Somali convoy. U.S. forces subsequently conducted the strike under collective self-defense authorities.

Al-Shabaab has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and is dedicated to providing safe haven for terrorist attacks throughout the world. Al-Shabaab has publicly committed to planning and conducting attacks against the U.S. and our partners in the region.

U.S. forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect Americans and to disable terrorist threats. This includes partnering with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali National Security Forces (SNSF); targeting terrorists, their training camps and safe havens throughout Somalia, the region and around the world.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    1

Sources (6) [ collapse]