Geolocation
Airwars assessment
Six alleged al-Shabaab members were killed by declared US airstrikes on the small town of Awdal 248 km northeast of Mogadishu near Cadale, Middle Shabelle, on December 23, 2022.
AFRICOM released a statement the same day that “At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted a self-defense strike, Dec. 23, in support of Somali National Army engagements against al-Shabaab 248 km northeast of Mogadishu near Cadale, Somalia. The command’s initial assessment is the strike killed six al-Shabaab terrorists and that no civilians were injured or killed.”
Globe Echo News reported on the day before the strike, December 22nd, that the Middle Shabelle region had been completely liberated from al-Shabaab.
No other independent details were available from foreign or local media.
This incident was the third strike carried out and announced by AFRICOM in 10 days, and all of them occurred in the same area near Cadale.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the town of Awdal allegedly in the vicinity of the town of Cadale. The generic coordinates for Cadale are: 2.762617, 46.321699. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (6) [ collapse]
US Forces Assessment:
Original strike reports
At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted a self-defense strike, Dec. 23, in support of Somali National Army engagements against al-Shabaab 248 km northeast of Mogadishu near Cadale, Somalia.
The command's initial assessment is the strike killed six al-Shabaab terrorists and that no civilians were injured or killed.
The Federal Government of Somalia and U.S. Africa Command takes great measures to prevent civilian casualties. Protecting civilians remains a vital part of the command's operations to promote greater security for all Africans.
Al-Shabaab is the largest and most deadly al-Qaeda network in the world and has proven both its will and capability to attack Somali, East African, and American civilians. U.S. kinetic actions against al-Shabaab in Somalia are conducted in support of the Federal Government of Somalia's ongoing campaign to disrupt terrorist operations in their country.
Somalia remains key to the stability and security in all of East Africa. U.S. Africa Command's forces will continue training, advising, and equipping partner forces to give them the tools that they need to defeat al-Shabaab.
U.S. Africa Command will continue to assess the results of these operations and will provide additional information as appropriate. Specific details about the units involved and assets used will not be released in order to ensure operations security.