A US strike targeted an al Shabaab base in Balad Amin in southern Somalia, killing between five and 10 of the group’s fighters.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported at the time that the US confirmed it carried out an airstrike “at approximately 4pm Eastern Time” – 1am November 22 local time – in defence of US and Somali forces.

A US spokesperson said: “US forces operating with Somali National Army (SNA) forces conducted a self-defence airstrike against al Shabaab… The al Shabaab forces were preparing to attack US and SNA forces. We are still assessing the results of the operation and will provide additional information if and when appropriate.”

Police, residents and the district commissioner told journalists a drone carried out the attack either late on November 21st or early on November 22nd.

“We heard three big crashes at an al Shabaab base in Balad Amin last night. It looked like a drone but we have no news of casualties,” Adan Ahmed, a resident of the area, told Reuters.

“The drone targeted an al Shabaab base last night. So far we have the information that five fighters including the al Shabaab leader in charge of Lower Shabelle region died in the strike,” according to Major Abdiqadir Ahmed, a police officer based in Wanlaweyn.

The district commissioner of Wanlawayn town, Hajji Isack Ali Mamow, told Shabelle News a “late night airstrike against [the] al Shabaab base” hit as leaders in the armed group were having a meeting. The attack allegedly was carried out by an unidentified drone.

At least three junior al Shabaab commanders were reportedly among the dead. The strike reportedly hit near Ballidogle Airport which also serves as a base for Somalia’s special commandos who are trained from US soldiers.

However, it should be noted that Airwars was unable to retrieve the original statement from the AFRICOM spokesperson, and must thus rely on paraphrasing BIJ’s reporting, considering the event as confirmed.

The incident occured at approximately 1:00 am local time.

At least two people, both reportedly al-Shabaab affiliated, were killed in a US drone strike on a vehicle in Jilib, Middle Juba region, international media reported. As of now, there are no reports about civilian harm.

Senior al Shabaab commander Ibrahim Ali Abdi (aka Anta Anta) was killed in the attack, according to Abu Mohamed, an al Shabaab militant, and Somali Interior Minister Abdikarim Hussein Guled. Ali Abdi was widely described as al Shabaab’s leading bomb maker. He was reportedly responsible for attacks on UN and diplomatic missions, and on a presidential palace in Hargeisa, Somaliland.

An unnamed official said Ali Abdi was “a person of interest we had been tracking”, while another said the US was ‘optimistic‘ he had died in the attack. Interior Minister Guled said Somali security services provided the US with intelligence for the attack. Abu Ali, Abdi’s ‘friend’, also died in the attack, Guled added.

Four witnesses reportedly said two men in a car died, the only reported casualties. Such precision suggested a drone carried out the attack. Anonymous US officials confirmed this, briefing that it was a US Army drone strike. Local resident Hassan Nur reportedly said:

“I heard a big crash and saw a drone disappearing far into the sky, at least two militants died…I witnessed a Suzuki car burning, many al Shabaab men came to the scene. I could see them carry the remains of two corpses. It was a heavy missile that the drone dropped. Many cars were driving ahead of me but the drone targeted this Suzuki.”

The two men were apparently travelling from Jilib, around 120km south of Mogadishu, to Barawe, an al Shabaab stronghold. Barawe was where US Special Forces failed to capture a senior al Shabaab militant in a daring raid more than three weeks earlier. A Somali intelligence source told the Associated Press the men were on their way to mediate a clan dispute.

Al Shabaab announced in March 2014 that it had executed a man they claimed had helped the US launch this strike. Mohamed Abdulle Gelle, 29, was one of three men executed by firing squad for apparently spying for the US and Somali governments.

In a subsequent FOIA response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, AFRICOM said it had conducted a strike on what it says was “an al-Shabaab named objective”, in the vicinity of Jilib on October 26th 2013 which is a close match for this strike, though two days prior to all other reports. This is therefore being treated as a single event.

The incident occured between 1:30 pm and 2:00 pm local time.

At least three alleged members of al Shahaab were killed in an airstrike against Kunyo-Barow village. The US action killed Abdirahman Sandhere, a senior al Shabaab fighter, the US Defence of Department (DoD) declared, along with two other suspected members of the group. There are currently no reports of civilian harm from this strike.

The “military air strike” specifically targeted Sandhere (aka Ukash) but also killed two unidentified associates, the DoD reported.

Initial reports said the attack hit one or two buildings in Kunyo Barrow village, near the town of Barawe where the group’s leader Abu Ahmed Godane was killed in September. However a spokesperson for the US military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: “The strike occurred in one location and did not hit any structures.”

Sandhere was not among the six high value al Shabaab members listed at the time by the US on its Rewards for Justice programme. The DoD said, in a statement: “Ukash’s removal from the battlefield is a significant blow to al-Shabaab and reflects the painstaking work by our intelligence, military, and law enforcement professionals. This is an important step forward in the fight against al Shabaab, and the United States will continue to use the tools at our disposal – financial, diplomatic, intelligence and military – to dismantle al Shabaab and other terrorist groups who threaten [the USA], interests and persons. We will also continue to support our international partners, particularly the African Union Mission in Somalia, that are working to support the government of the Federal Republic of Somalia in building a secure and stable future for the Somali people.”

In a subsequent FOIA response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, AFRICOM again confirmed it had carried out a strike on what it says was “an al-Shabaab named objective” in Kunyo Barrow, Somalia.

The incident occured in the morning.

In this strike in Barawe, Lower Shabelle, up to six al Shabaab militants were killed, including the the group’s leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane (aka Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr or Ahmed Abdi Aw Mohamed), international and local media reported. There were no reports of civilian harm.

The strike was the first known US attack in Somalia for some months, and involved both US drones and conventional air craft, flown by Special Forces operatives from JSOC, who targeted an encampment and vehicles in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia. At least six people were reportedly killed in the attack, multiple sources said.

It remained unclear for days after the strike if the US had indeed killed Godane. Initially the US government, Somali government officials and al Shabaab were cagey about his apparent demise. The day after the attack, al Shabaab spokesperson Abu Mohammed confirmed Godane, above, was in the convoy when the attack hit. And a US official told Reuters: “We don’t know that he’s dead. But he was the target.”

Godane’s death was eventually confirmed on September 5th. He was the specific target, according to a Pentagon spokesperson, though the attack reportedly also killed a group of senior al Shabaab figures.

Godane, 37, trained as an accountant and worked for an airline before turning to violence, according to the Daily Telegraph. He took control of the al Shabaab group in 2008 when his predecessor Aden Hashi Ayro was killed in a cruise missile strike. He sidelined or killed more moderate rivals in his rise to the top of the terrorist organisation. The US government had put a $7m reward for information on his whereabouts.

Al Shabaab named a successor two days after the US government confirmed Godane was dead. Ahmed Umar was elected unanimously, according to a video message sent to al Jazeera. The Somali government subsequently put a $3m reward out for Umar.

While Godane’s fate was unclear for almost a week after the strike, the Pentagon was uncharacteristically transparent about the attack, with spokesperson Rear Admiral John Kirby making several statements, and answering questions from the press. Kirby said of the strike: “The U.S. military undertook operations against Godane on Sept. 1, which led to his death… Removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic and operational loss” to al-Shabab… The United States works in coordination with its friends, allies and partners to counter the regional and global threats posed by violent extremist organizations.”

Somali National Security Ministry spokesperson Mohamed Yusuf additionally told journalists: “His death is great news for the Somali people, because he was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent people in his so-called holy war.”

Godane was in overall command of the murderous terrorist attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, in 2013. The president of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta thanked the US for killing Godane: “We owe the United States and its soldiers our heartfelt thanks for bringing an end to Godane’s career of death and destruction and finally allowing us to begin our healing process.”

A possible, and surprising, element of this strike emerged on September 12th 2014. A French publication, Le Point, reported that France’s intelligence service the DGSE had given the US the precise whereabouts of Godane, under direct orders from President Francois Hollande. The article claimed that Paris had been hunting Godane to exact revenge for the kidnapping of two DGSE officers on July 14th 2009, and the death of one of them and two commandos sent to rescue him on January 12th 2013. President Hollande had ordered his intelligence services to do everything they could to find and kill Godane.

In a subsequent FOIA response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, AFRICOM again confirmed it had carried out a strike on what it says was an  “al Shabaab named objective”, in the vicinity of Baraawe, Somalia on this date.

The incident occured at 17:30:00 local time.