According to local sources, an airstrike by an unknown party targeted a ‘foreign al Shabaab commander’ around dawn on May 9th 2019.

According to Horn Globe, “A second huge blast was heard in Jamame town, around dawn. The target of the second air attack was al-Shabaab commander in charge of planning operations, a Somali intelligence officer in Mogadishu has told Horn Globe. His fate is yet unknown as the intel officer says they were assessing the situation there. Jamaame is about 522km from Mogadishu.

“There was no any press release from the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) in relation to the two air strikes in Jilib and Jamame.”

According to Fallaro, “in Jamame district in Lower Juba region, a nighttime bombardment occurred, and it was reported that leader Abddinur Hussein, a close ally of Ahmed Godane, was reportedly targeted. The death toll is said to have risen to five members of Al-Shabaab and there are other casualties, although their exact number is not yet known.”

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 around dawn.