Incident date
February 2, 2019
LOCATION
Forsooley, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaA reported tweet from Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency – apparently since deleted – referred to a joint raid on February 2nd by Somali and US forces which was said to have killed 40 al Shabaab fighters. Goobjoog News, which picked up on the original tweet, said that “The National Intelligence and Security Agency
Summary
Incident date
January 13, 2019
LOCATION
السوسة, Al Soussa, Deir Ezzor, SyriaA house in the town of Al Soussa was struck by what sources described variously as a drone strike, airstrikes, artillery shelling, a rocket or a rocket-propelled grenade, killing two named brothers. Three of their other brothers were reported injured. Although one source implied the brothers were members of ISIS, this was not mentioned by
Summary
Incident date
January 3, 2019
LOCATION
الكشكية, Al Khishkiya or Kashma, Deir Ezzor, SyriaDuring an exchange of small arms fire, an alleged Coalition helicopter strike hit a civilian home in the town of Al-Kashkiya, east of Deir Al-Zour. Between six and ten civilians from the same family were reported killed, including women and children. In January 2020, the Coalition accepted responsibility for the deaths of nine civilians in
Summary
Incident date
December 30, 2018
LOCATION
جيليب, Jilib, Middle Juba, SomaliaA joint action by Somali troops and US Special Forces killed 30 al Shabaab militants including two foreign fighters, in the town of Jilib, according to a Somali National Army commander. Xinhua reported the following: “The Somali National Army (SNA) on Sunday killed 30 al-Shabab militants, including two foreign nationals, in the southern town of
Summary
Incident date
September 21, 2018
LOCATION
50 km northwest of Kismayo, Lower Juba, SomaliaUS forces carried out a ‘self-defence strike’ against al Shabaab on September 21st approximately 50 km northwest of Kismayo and killing 18 al Shabaab members, according to a press release from US Africa Command. According to AFRICOM “The U.S. airstrike was conducted against militants after U.S. and partner forces came under attack. We currently assess
Summary
Incident date
August 11, 2018
LOCATION
Leego, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaLocal reporters alleged that US and Somali forces had killed four civilians including a mother and child, during an operation in Leego. Caasimada alleged that the civilians were killed around midnight, by Somali troops accompanied by ‘white US officers’, and claimed that the attacking forces had flown there from a military base to the north.
Summary
Incident date
June 8, 2018
LOCATION
Baar, Lower Juba, SomaliaAn American Special Forces soldier was killed – later named as Staff Sergeant Alexander Conrad – and four others were wounded in an attack by al Shabaab fighters in Jubaland. A member of a partner force was also killed or injured. The US soldiers were among a large force of 800 Somali and Kenyan soldiers
Summary
Incident date
May 10, 2018
LOCATION
Khatuniya, Al Hassakah, SyriaIn an incident previously untracked by Airwars, the Coalition later confirmed the death of one civilian in an event near Khatuniya. The Pentagon later reported this to have been a US action. According to CJTFOIR’s June 2019 civilian casualty report: “Coalition forces engaged in a small arms fire event. Regrettably, one civilian was unintentionally killed
Summary
Incident date
May 9, 2018
LOCATION
Bulcida Macalinka (northeast), Lower Shabelle, SomaliaFive civilians were reportedly killed in a US and/or Somali-waged ground operation – possibly also involving airpower – in the Lower Shabelle region, local and international media reported. The US denied allegations of harm on several occasions. The raid was reportedly carried out by Somalia commandos, with the US saying American troops supported the mission
Summary
Incident date
March 20, 2018
LOCATION
سقبا, Saqba, Damascus, SyriaLocal sources reported that 18 civilians were killed by alleged Russian or Syrian regime forces near a cemetery in the city of Saqba, Damascus governorate, on March 20th, 2018. @AJA_Syria tweeted that “Syrian executed 18 civilians on the ground near the cemetery of the city of Saqba, Ghouta, Damascus.” Other sources also reported that civilians
Summary
Incident date
January 18, 2018
LOCATION
Jameeco Jilyaale near Beled ul Amin, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaThe US confirmed it had accompanied Somali troops in a mission that rescued 30 to 32 boys from an al Shabaab indoctrination centre in the Lower Shabelle region. However, during the rescue attempt, fire reportedly from Somali forces reportedly killed four or five children, and a teacher. A later US government FOIA response indicated that
Summary
Incident date
August 25, 2017
LOCATION
Bariire, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaThe US military and the Somali government announced they were investigating reports that ten civilians, including three children, were killed during an operation on a farm in Bariire, in Somalia’s southern Lower Shabelle region. However, on November 28th 2017, the US published a press release concluding that only “armed enemy combatants” were killed. Earlier that
Summary
Incident date
May 23, 2017
LOCATION
البديع, Al Buday, Al Bayda, YemenUS airstrikes reportedly targeted alleged AQAP militants in the Badi Al Awad district of Bayda governorate at around 3am on May 23rd 2017. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm. Several sources, including Yemeni security officials spoken with by the Associated Press, suggested that actions by US drones and helicopter gunships took place
Summary
Incident date
May 23, 2017
LOCATION
النجاد العذلان, Al Nijad Al Adhlan, Ma'rib, YemenUp to five civilians, including a fifteen-year-old boy and man over the age of 70, were reportedly killed in a US special forces ground operation in Al Khthala village, in the Al Jubah area of Marib governorate, beginning at around 1am on May 23rd 2017, though official US accounts of the raid claimed that there
Summary
Incident date
May 4, 2017
LOCATION
دار السلام, Andalus Radio, Darusalaam, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaIn the first confirmed US kinetic operation since President Trump designated Somalia an active war zone in March 2017, one US Navy serviceman was killed and two or three others injured during an operation against al Shabaab in Somalia on May 5th (local time), the first declared American service member death in combat in the
Summary
Incident date
April 5, 2017
LOCATION
الشفاء, Mosul, Shafa, Nineveh, IraqLocal sources reported that 16 civilians were killed and many were injured in Coalition and Iraqi government airstrikes on Al-Shafaa neighbourhood in West Mosul. In September 2019 the Coalition accepted responsibility for this incident. Its monthly civilian casualty report noted: “Coalition aircraft conducted an airstrike against a Daesh mortar position. Regrettably, 16 civilians were unintentionally
Summary
Incident date
March 9, 2017
LOCATION
الكرامة, Al Karama, Raqqa, SyriaBetween seven and 23 civilians including six children died and 18 to 30 more, including women and children, were injured in Coalition airstrikes on Al Karama town and nearby villages in Raqqa governorate, according to local sources. Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently reported the death of Jum’a Mahmood Hamad Al-Hito “who was killed today due
Summary
Incident date
March 2, 2017
LOCATION
وادي يشبم, Yashbum Valley, Shabwa, YemenSeveral sources reported that US airstrikes and ground forces targeted AQAP militants, including alleged leader Saad Atef, in the Yashbum Valley of al-Saeed district in Shabwa province, overnight from March 2nd-3rd 2017, following airstrikes in the same area early on March 2nd. There were multiple allegations of civilian harm as a result of heavy munitions
Summary
Incident date
March 2, 2017
LOCATION
موجان, Mojan, Abyan, YemenMultiple sources reported that US forces were involved in a combined arms operation that took place at dawn on March 2nd 2017 in Mogan, al-Maraqisha directorate, Abyan governorate. The action was variously alleged to have included airstrikes, naval bombardment, and troop landings. Some sources claimed the operation was implemented in cooperation with Emirati special forces
Summary
Incident date
March 2, 2017
LOCATION
حصن سعيد, Fort Saeed, Abyan, YemenSome sources reported that US forces were involved in a beach landing operation on Nakheela beach, on the al-Maraqisha coast, Abyan governorate, in the region of or near the village of Mogan, at dawn on March 2nd 2017. This raid allegedly took place in tandem with a reported combined arms operation, with which the US
Summary
Incident date
January 29, 2017
LOCATION
الغيل, al Ghayil, Yakla, Al Bayda, YemenAt least 15 civilians, including at least 10 children and four women, were reportedly killed in a US Navy special forces operation in al-Ghayil village, Yakla region of Bayda province – though the reported civilian toll varied considerably. The US military has to date conceded 12 deaths. A force of US Navy SEALs engaged in
Summary
Incident date
September 26, 2016
LOCATION
Caba, Lower Juba, SomaliaThe US reported in a press release published on September 27th that it had conducted a “self-defence strike” in Caba near Kismayo the previous day, killing four al Shabaab fighters . The press release said that a group of armed al Shabaab fighters attacked the Somali force and their US advisors. The Somali forces returned
Summary
Incident date
September 5, 2016
LOCATION
Tortoroow, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaThe US reported two days after the event that it had conducted two “self-defence strikes” on September 5th against al Shabaab, killing four militants. According to an AFRICOM press release, the strikes hit near Tortoroow and were conducted in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia after a Somali-led counter-terrorism operation came under attack. Garowe
Summary
Incident date
September 5, 2016
LOCATION
Tortoroow, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaThe US reported two days after the event that it had conducted two “self-defence strikes” on September 5th against al Shabaab, killing four militants in total. According to an AFRICOM press release, the strikes hit near Tortoroow and were conducted in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia after a Somali-led counter-terrorism operation came under
Summary
Incident date
August 10, 2016
LOCATION
Saakow, Middle Juba, SomaliaUS forces helped Somali commandos in an operation in southern Somalia that killed several members of al Shabaab, a Pentagon official said on August 16th. The operation took place on August 10th. Somali forces approached an al Shabaab checkpoint. The terrorists reportedly opened fire and a gun battle ensued. “US advisers accompanied the Somali-led force,
Summary
Incident date
May 31, 2016
LOCATION
Farwamo, near Bulogadud, Lower Juba, SomaliaUp to 16 al Shabaab fighters died in an operation reportedly carried out by Somali forces with US support, multiple sources said. The US claimed at the time that at the time that Somali forces alone were responsible for the kinetic actions. However, a FOIA response obtained in 2019 confirmed that the US had in
Summary
Incident date
May 12, 2016
LOCATION
Sabiid, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaA US air strike reportedly killed five people – all of them said to be al Shabaab fighters. The attack was defensive and conducted to protect African troops on the ground, an Africom spokesperson told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. The Ugandan soldiers, part of the African Union peacekeeping force Amisom, were attacking a makeshift
Summary
Incident date
April 2, 2016
LOCATION
Lower Juba, SomaliaThis was the second of two strikes confirmed by the Pentagon on April 4th 2016. The attack was a “self-defence air strikes against al Shabaab fighters who posed imminent threats to US and partner nation forces in Somalia,” Department of Defense spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Michelle Baldanza told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Earlier on April 4th,
Summary
Incident date
April 1, 2016
LOCATION
Buufow, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaAt least four and up to 23 al Shabaab fighters were reported killed in a US airstrike at Buufow, near Janaaale. However more than three years later, one civilian fatality was also alleged. Two US actions on April 1st and April 2nd were later said to be “self-defence air strikes against al Shabaab fighters who
Summary
Incident date
March 8, 2016
LOCATION
Awdheegle, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaAt least 19 alleged militants were killed in a joint operation between US and Somali forces in the village of Awdhegle. US attack helicopters supported US and Somali Special Forces who attacked an al Shabaab target in southern Somalia, the Pentagon and Somali officials said. The assault took place overnight. The soldiers flew on US