Mabkhout Ali al Ameri with his 18-month old son Mohammed, shortly after a botched US raid on al Ghayil in January 2017 had killed at least 20 villagers, including Mohammed's mother Fatim Saleh Mohsen. © Iona Craig
US and Somali special forces carried out a night raid on an al Shabaab-held village in southern Somalia, the district commissioner and a senior Somali intelligence official told reporters. It was the second US operation in the village in two weeks. “Several al-Shabaab fighters” are thought to have been killed according to NBC. Two helicopters
AFRICOM reported that the previous day it had “conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab militants in the early morning hours of Jan. 2, 2018, approximately 50 kilometers west of the capital [Mogadishu]”. It added: “We assess no civilians were killed in this strike.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the airstrike killed “two terrorists” and destroyed “one vehicle-borne improvised
AFRICOM reported that the day previously it had “conducted an airstrike targeting an al-Shabaab militant in the vicinity of Kunyo Barrow, Somalia, on October 6, 2018.” It added: “We currently assess no civilians were injured or killed in this airstrike.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the action killed “(1) terrorist”. In a subsequent FOIA response obtained
The US military carried out two separate airstrikes targeting al Shabaab in the vicinity of Jilib, according to a press release from US Africa Command. According to AFRICOM, “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted two airstrikes targeting al-Shabaab militants in the vicinity of Jilib, Somalia, on June 16, 2019… At
According to a Freedom of Information response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, this previously unknown US strike took place in Dinsoor, Somalia against an “al-Shabaab Named Objective”. It should be noted however that the last known declared US strike in Dinsoor prior to February 2nd 2015 was on January 31st 2015. There
A 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
In apparent retaliatory strikes against al Al Shabaab for a mass casualty bombing in Mogadishu a day earlier, the United States said that it had conducted three strikes against al Shbaab commanders, killing four people in total. This entry relates to one strike in the vicinity of Caliyoow Barrow in Lower Shabelle. it later emerged
One local language source, Aden al-Hadath, reported that according to local residents, a drone strike had targeted a school in Khabr al-Maraqisha, Abyan governorate, on March 2nd 2017. There were no known reports of civilian casualties. On the same day, multiple US airstrikes and alleged troop landings were reported, as part of a combined arms
According to Al-Jazeera, its sources reported that US drone strikes targeted alleged AQAP sites in Al Hawta, in Shabwa governorate, at some time from March 29th to March 30th. The news organisation reported that casualties from the strikes were unknown. No other known sources independently reported these strikes. This reported event took place amid a
US Africa Command on the same date declared an airstrike in the vicinity of Janaale, which it said had killed four al Shabaab fighters. According to the AFRICOM press release: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab terrorists in vicinity of Janaale, Somalia, Mar. 9… The
Eight Al Shabaab militants were allegedly killed by three US strikes near Mubaraak. The AFRICOM press release said: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted three (3) airstrikes targeting al-Shabaab terrorists in the vicinity of Mubaraak, Somalia, Apr. 5. The command’s initial assessment concluded these airstrikes killed eight (8) terrorists.
A single local-language Twitter source, @wn4YYsr1zvokcHx, asserted that a US drone strike had killed seven AQAP militants travelling to Shabwa, on March 22nd 2019. No other known sources reported the strike, and there was no known indication of civilian harm. In a later press release and in comments to New America, US Central Command stated
According to a report by The Intercept, US helicopter gunships fired on the village of Al Ghayil, in the Yakla area of Al Bayda governorate, on the night of March 3rd 2017, damaging “at least six houses”. There were no known associated reports of civilian harm. Late on March 3rd, one local language social media
An alleged US drone strike killed 17 Al Shabaab fighters near Amreereey. SNA, the Somali forces’ radio, said that the strike “was carried out in collaboration with the Somali National Army and its international allies, took place in Amrerey area of Jilib district in Middle Juba region.” It added: “The militants killed in the shelling
The brief recapture by al Shabaab of the strategic town of Amara on the morning of August 24th was reversed by Somali ground forces, assisted by a US airstrike. Up to 90 militants and five government soldiers were killed in the strike, according to the Somali government and state media. Amara had been held by
15 al-Shabaab militants were reportedly killed by Somali forces and “international partner” airstrikes or ground operations near Bulo Madina on November 24, 2022. Somali National Television posted on Twitter that 15 al-Shabaab militants were killed by an operation carried out by Somali security forces with the support of airstrikes from “international security partners” near Bulo
One senior al-Shabaab militant was injured by declared US AFRICOM airstrikes on Jilib, Somalia on May 20, 2023. Somali National News Agency’s Twitter account @SONNALIVE first announced that “In a joint operation with international allies, the armed forces launched an airstrike on #Jilib city, the headquarters of #AlShabab terrorists. The enemy suffered losses in terms
On the 26th of May, 2023, U.S. forces conducted an airstrike against Al-Shabaab fighters in the vicinity of an ATMIS (African Union Transition Mission in Somalia) forward operating base in Bulo Marer, 75 miles southwest of Mogadishu, Somalia. To date, there have been no reports of civilian harm with regard to the airstrike, while a
A US drone strike reportedly killed at least two alleged AQAP militants in Al Huson, in the Al Wadi area of Marib governorate, on the evening of November 2nd 2017. In an email to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a US Central Command spokesperson confirmed that a strike had taken place in Marib, stating that
Jamal Al-Badawi, an alleged ‘legacy’ AQAP militant, was killed by a US drone strike in Marib governorate on the morning of January 1st 2019, US Central Command stated, confirming earlier reports that he had been targeted by a strike in Wadi Obeidah, Marib. One civilian was locally reported injured in the attack – and the
In a news feature looking at drone strikes in Somalia, Somalia Report stated that on this day, “another [US] attack occurred in Taabta village in the Afmadow District of Lower Juba.” The report indicated that the target was al Shabaab. “AFRICOM does have terrorism in its list of applications and as of June JSOC’s hunter killers
At 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
On September 5th 2017, AFRICOM reported that it had conducted a precision airstrike in “central Somalia” against al-Shabaab militants that same day at approximately 9:50am local Somalia time. The release made no mention of civilian harm. However, AFRICOM asserted that the strike had killed “three (3) terrorists”. The action, it said, had hit in the
AFRICOM reported that the previous day it had “conducted an airstrike against Al-Shabaab militants near Jilib, Somalia, the afternoon of April 5”. It added: “We assess no civilians were killed in this airstrike.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the airstrike killed “three (3) terrorists” and destroyed “one (1) vehicle with a mounted heavy machine gun.” In a
AFRICOM reported that the previous day, it had “conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants near Lebede, Somalia on November 30, 2018”. It said that there had been no civilian harm. However, AFRICOM claimed that the airstrike had killed “nine (9) militants”. Voice of America reporter Harun Maruf provided a more detailed location. “Statement says strike
A Mareeg Media report from March 16th 2019 asserted that US-backed Somali forces had carried out an “air and ground operation” near Marka Town in Jilib Marka, 91km southwest of Mogadishu. Citing anonymous Somali military officials, Mareeg said that “at least” 22 “militants” were killed in the operation, including ‘senior al Shabaab commanders’ Abu Yasin
A suspected al Shabaab associate who once lived in the US was arrested during a mission in Somalia, a US Africa Command spokesperson told AP. It was a Somali-led mission with “limited tactical advisory support” from the US, spokesperson Jennifer Dyrcz said. The suspect, identified as Abdirizak Tahlil, was accused of “facilitating the use of improvised
A US airstrike targeted AQAP in Bayda governorate on January 25th 2018, a US Central Command spokesperson later told the Long War Journal. Our Arabic-language researchers found no local reports of a US strike on that day, and there were no known claims of civilian harm.
A reported US drone strike killed al Shabaab’s head of domestic intelligence in a night time action near Kunyo Barrow. While the action was apparently confirmed by Somali military radio, AFRICOM did not declare a strike on this date – indicating a possible CIA action. Voice of America reporter Harun Maruf first mentioned the strike
A US airstrike was called in to support a Somali forces unit under attack from al Shabaab, AFRICOM reported the next day. According to the official press release, “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab terrorists who engaged Somali National Army Danab Unit near Bangeeni, Somalia,