Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USSOM220

Incident date

May 8, 2019

Location

جيليب, Jilib, Middle Juba, Somalia

Geolocation

0.494527, 42.777868 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

According to local sources, an airstrike by an unknown party targeted a ‘foreign al Shabaab commander’ close to midnight on May 8th 2019.

According to Horn Globe, “United States military has carried out at least two air strikes targeting al-Shabaab militant group’s bases in Jilib and Jamame town on Wednesday night, locals sources said. The first air strike hit a house in downtown Jilib, about 370km south of Somali capital, Mogadishu where a ‘suspected foreign al-Shabaab militant commander’ was hiding in. Local sources interviewed by Horn Globe did not identify the foreign al-Shabaab commander and whether he was killed or injured.

“One resident who asked anonymity said there were many vehicles coming in and out before the huge bomb hit the house close to midnight local time. Al-Shabaab does not allow local journalists or civilians to come near the places of air strike in an attempt to conceal possible deaths of its fighters.”

According to Fallaro, the target of the first strike was partially named as Mohammed.

No casualty number was suggested publicly for this reported action.

Asked whether it had been responsible for this event, in February 2020 a senior AFRICOM official told Airwars that this was not the case. However, this may not preclude actions by the CIA which conducts its own undeclared strikes in Somalia.

The incident occured at approximately 12:00 am local time.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention that the strike targeted a house in downtown Jilib around midnight. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the precise location of the strike. The coordinates for the town Jilib are: 0.494527, 42.777868.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected belligerents
    US Forces, US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al-Shabaab

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

US Forces Assessment:

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

US Forces Assessment:

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

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected belligerents
    US Forces, US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al-Shabaab

Sources (2) [ collapse]