Geolocation
Airwars assessment
The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) declared an airstrike in a remote location near Beer Xaani, in the vicinity of Yaaq-Zaluul, in Somalia on June 3rd 2022. They declared that five Al-Shabaab militants were killed in this attack but that no civilians were injured or killed.
In local reports, this was repeated and there were no allegations of civilian harm in this strike.
AFRICOM released a statement which stated “The command’s initial assessment is that five al-Shabaab terrorists were killed in action and that no civilians were injured or killed given the remote nature of where this enagement occured.”
They mentioned that this strike was in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia and it was conducted aganst Al-Shabaab militants after they attacked partner forces. The Ministry of Information in Somalia also repeated this information in a statement released on Twitter.
Halgan Media reported that US troops and Somalia ground forces were ambushed west of the coastal city of Kismaayo in Somalia’s Lower Jubba privince. They reported that “during the midst of the ambush, US military aircraft believed to be an unmanned aerial vehicle commonly referred to as a drone carried out at an airstrike at the site of the ambush.”
This is the first known US strike since President Biden signed an order on May 16th, deploying hundreds of US troops back into Somalia.
Most of the sources were reporting information from official Somali or US sources. This could be due to the remote location. This assessment will be updated as we recieve more information.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Yaaq-Zaluul, allegedly within the locality of Beer Xaani. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further. The generic coordinates for Beer Xani are: 0.218985, 42.177213.
Summary
Sources (10) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
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The Somalia Ministry of Information released a statement, declaring AFRICOM's strike on Al-Shabaab militants on June 3rd 2022.
US Forces Assessment:
Original strike reports
In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab terrorists after they attacked partner forces in a remote location near Beer Xaani, Somalia 3 June 2022. U.S. forces are authorized to conduct strikes in support of designated partner forces.
The command’s initial assessment is that five al-Shabaab terrorists were killed in action and that no civilians were injured or killed given the remote nature of where this engagement occurred.
The Federal Government of Somalia and U.S. Africa Command take great measures to prevent civilian casualties. These efforts contrast with the indiscriminate attacks that al-Shabaab regularly conducts against the civilian population.
The Federal Government of Somalia and the U.S. remain committed to fighting al-Shabaab to prevent the deaths of innocent civilians.
Violent extremist organizations like al-Shabaab present long-term threats to the U.S. and regional interests.