Incident Code
Incident Date
Location
Geolocation
Geolocation
Airwars Assessment
(Previous Incident Code: SOM118)
AFRICOM reported that the previous day, it had “conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants near Lebede, Somalia on November 30, 2018”.
It said that there had been no civilian harm. However, AFRICOM claimed that the airstrike had killed “nine (9) militants”.
Voice of America reporter Harun Maruf provided a more detailed location. “Statement says strike location is near Lebed, but local sources say exact target is a mountain called Geelway. It’s the 37th strike by US in Somalia this year.”
In a subsequent FOIA response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, AFRICOM confirmed it had struck on this day what it says were “al Shabaab fighters”, in the vicinity Ledbe, Somalia.
Key Information
Geolocation Notes
Reports of the incident mention that the strike targeted the Geelway mountain (or Buur Gal Waay) between Dinsor and Burhakaba. Africom stated that the strike took place in Lebede, of which the location is unclear. The coordinates of the Geelway mountain are: 2.357851, 43.579698. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Geelway mountain/Buur Gal Waay
Imagery: Google Earth