Incident date
July 13, 2017
LOCATION
حرمك, Kunya Barrow, Middle Juba, SomaliaUS 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
Summary
Incident date
July 5, 2017
LOCATION
Luglaaw, Lower Juba, SomaliaUS forces were involved in a “self-defence strike operation” with Somali National Army (SNA) forces “against an al Shabaab troop concentration” in the country’s south, according to an Africa Command (AFRICOM) press release. The statement did not include a casualty count, saying it “will continue to assess the results of the operation, and will provide
Summary
Incident date
July 2, 2017
LOCATION
حرمك, Kunya Barrow, Middle Juba, SomaliaA US airstrike in the Lower Shabelle region targeting al Shabaab insurgents killed one member of the terror group, according to AFRICOM. The victim may have been the leader of the group’s intelligence wing, Andullahi Haji Daud. There are currently no known associated reports of civilian harm. The strike hit in the south of the
Summary
Incident date
July 2, 2017
LOCATION
O'wdhiile, 55 miles south of Mogadishu, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaAn airstrike reportedly killed up to two civilians in O’wdhille, a village about 55 miles south of Mogadishu, according to findings from a field investigation by The Nation. Reporter Amanda Sperber detailed the account of Osman [not his real name] whose relatives were reportedly killed in the strike: “Around 5 pm in early July 2017, Osman
Summary
Incident date
June 11, 2017
LOCATION
Bohol Jawarey, Middle Juba, SomaliaA US strike on an al Shabaab “command and logistics node” killed eight members of the group, according to a US Africa Command press release. There were claims that Abdirahman Mohamed Warsame, a commander of the terror group’s intelligence wing was killed in the strike, though this was not confirmed by AFRICOM. No civilians were
Summary
Incident date
June 3, 2017
LOCATION
Welmarow, Lower Juba, SomaliaAFRICOM denied conducting any recent airstrikes in Somalia, a VOA journalist reported – following recent claims of US activities in the Lower Juba region. According to SomNews, US forces had conducted a helicopter assault on the village of Welmarow on the evening of June 3rd: “Helicopters thought to be from United States military have launched
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 14, 2017
LOCATION
Wargaduud and El Adde, Gedo, SomaliaChinese news agency Xinhua reported Somali security officials and residents as claiming that over 100 al Shabaab fighters, including 20 commanders, were killed in US air strikes on the morning of April 15th. The attack was denied by US Africa Command, which said the US military had not conducted the action. In an explicit statement
Summary
Incident date
February 24, 2017
LOCATION
Hawina, north of Kismayo, Lower Juba, SomaliaSomali news outlet Mareeg reported a suspected drone strike on an al Shabaab controlled village. Mareeg reported an eyewitness as saying: “We heard several bomb explosion caused by drone airstrikes in Hawina village.” He added: “It is not clear how many people have been killed or wounded it is very difficult to know the real
Summary
Incident date
January 7, 2017
LOCATION
Gaduud, Lower Juba, SomaliaIn the last declared Somalia strike of Barack Obama’s presidency, the US conducted a “self-defence strike” against al Shabaab on January 7th, according to a US Africa Command press release published on January 10th. The strike was conducted “in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, Somali partner forces, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)
Summary
Incident date
December 5, 2016
LOCATION
Omar Beere/Ibrahim Ali Berre camp near Tortoroow, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaTwo media organisations reported a possible US air operation targeting an al Shabaab base in the Lower Shabelle region. Dalsan Radio reported that Somali commandos backed by US Special Forces had attacked al Shabaab bases in Omar Berre in Lower Shabelle overnight using helicopters. It also quoted what it said was an eyewitness: “‘We heard several
Summary
Incident date
September 28, 2016
LOCATION
Jehdin, 30 km east of Galkayo, Mudug, SomaliaA US drone strike on September 28th killed at least ten members of a local friendly militia and not al Shabaab militants as the US had initially believed, according to local communities and an investigation by the Washington Post. Between three and 16 additional members of the Galmadug militia were injured. At least one source,
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 10, 2016
LOCATION
سااكوو, Saakow, Middle Juba, SomaliaAccording to a Freedom of Information response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, this previously unknown confirmed US strike took place in the vicinity of Saakow, Somalia against an unspecified “al-Shabaab Named Objective”. This incident was not previously publicly known. No further details are currently available.
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 30, 2016
LOCATION
Gobanle, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaThe US reported that it had conducted a “self-defense strike” against al Shabaab in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia in a press release published on September 7th. It said the strike hit near Gobanale and had resulted in the deaths of two al Shabaab militants. The press release reported that during a Somali-led
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
July 24, 2016
LOCATION
El Adde, Gedo, SomaliaLocal residents said jets bombed an al Shabaab camp near El Adde in Gedo region late at night on Sunday July 24. The attack hit the same area that 100 Kenyan peacekeepers were killed in January 2016 when al Shabaab forces overran their base. It was attributed to the Kenyan Defence Force with the Pentagon
Summary
Incident date
June 21, 2016
LOCATION
South-central, Bay, SomaliaThe US conducted “a self-defence strike against al Shabaab, killing three” in southern Somalia, describing the action as having “provided defensive fires to protect U.S. troops from imminent threats posed by the terrorist group al-Shabaab.” A statement from US Africa Command (Africom) issued at the time said “the operation was conducted after it was assessed
Summary
Incident date
June 11, 2016
LOCATION
Galgala, Bari, SomaliaUnidentified jets struck what were described as “al Shabaab hideouts” in Galgala in the northern autonomous region of Puntland, according to a local report. Garowe Online said the strikes – carried out by warplanes “launched from a carrier at sea” – hit militants in their bases along the Golis Mountain Ranges in Puntland, northern Somalia.
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 27, 2016
LOCATION
جيليب, Jilib, Middle Juba, SomaliaA statement from the Pentagon said an airstrike in south-central Somalia had targeted Abdullahi Haji Daud – but initially did not confirm whether Daud had been killed. However on June 8th, Africom announced a “final assessment” which concluded “Daud was struck and killed in the airstrike”. There are currently no reports of civilian harm. It
Summary
Incident date
May 13, 2016
LOCATION
Southern Somalia, Bay, SomaliaIn June 2016, the US reported that six weeks earlier it had struck a group of al Shabaab fighters, killing three. According to the AFRICOM statement released on June 27th 2016, “U.S. forces supporting the Federal Government of Somalia, the Somali National Army and troop contributing nations to the African Union Mission in Somalia, provided
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
May 9, 2016
LOCATION
Tortoroow, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaKenyan and Somali forces, and their US advisors, carried out a raid on an al Shabaab checkpoint in Toratorow. The US carried out an airstrike during the operation – though initially denied doing so. Media reports said helicopters were involved, indicating that both US air and ground forces were participating. However a US spokesperson denied
Summary
Incident date
April 11, 2016
LOCATION
1.2 km east of Yontoy, Lower Juba, SomaliaThree civilians were reportedly killed in a US drone strike in Lower Juba. The attack began late on April 11 and continued into the small hour of April 12, Lt Col Michelle Baldanza of AFRICOM later said in a statement. The camp “posed an imminent threat to US personnel,” she said. Somali officials allege the
Summary
Incident date
April 6, 2016
LOCATION
جيليب, Al Shabaab police station and vicinity in Jillib, Middle Juba, SomaliaThe US carried airstrikes in self-defence in Jillib, Middle Juba, as reported by local media. According to one local tweet, the attack took place at night in Jilib. Mogadishu News claimed that eight militants were killed when an al Shabaab police station was struck – noting “civilian houses razed by the strikes.” UPDATE: Drone strikes
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