Library image of an armed Reaper drone, December 2019 (US Air Force/ Senior Sergeant Haley Stevens)
US Africa Command initially reported that it had carried out two airstrikes in the vicinity of Janaale in the lower Shabelle region. AFRICOM stated that “the first airstrike on February 11 had killed eight militants and the second airstrike killed four militants” with a total of 12 killed. AFRICOM added that “at this time, it
An 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
A father and young child were reported killed in a US airstrike on the al Shabaab-occupied town of Kunyo Barrow. AFRICOM later admitted the deaths of two civilians along with three injuries in the event in its first quarterly civilian harm report of April 2020. US Africa Command first reported on February 24th 2019 that
In the first known lethal drone strike in Somalia, Predators struck a militant training camp 10km south of Kismayo. Further missiles reportedly hit a second target near the airport. At least one member of Al-Shabaab was killed – possibly “many” – and up to three were wounded, according to local and international media. There were
The Pentagon announced four airstrikes on February 23rd in a press release issued by US Africa Command. One of these airstrikes occurred in Awdeegle, 50 kilometres west of Mogadishu. The press release read: “These four airstrikes eliminated checkpoints and facilities used by al-Shabaab to collect illegal taxes to fund terrorist activities and to oppress the innocent
A 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,
A US airstrike targeted alleged al Shabaab militants in the vicinity of Dacaraha village, 50 km west of Mogadishu, a local source reported. Publicly AFRICOM said it had conducted two strikes near Kunyo Barrow that day, with others at Janaale and Awdhegle. The other Kunyo barrow strike – which hit the town itself – reportedly
In this single-source allegation, an unknown number of people were reportedly killed or wounded in possible US strikes in Afmadow district, as reported by Somalia Report. The source did not mention whether the victims were combatants or civilians. According to Somalia Report, US drones or planes reportedly hit three al Shabaab militant training camps in
Up to six people, including at least one possible civilian, were killed and at least two possible civilians were wounded, as a US-launched raid targeted and reportedly killed a high value al Qaeda/ al Shabab member, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, international media reported. The attack marked the first known lethal operation by US forces in
One civilian man was possibly killed as a US drone struck and killed up to seven members of al-Shabaab at Kilometre 60 or K60, in Lower Shabelle, 60km south west of Mogadishu on the road to Marka/ Mercer, international media reported. The action came hours after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had told a
One civilian was reportedly killed and another injured in a confirmed US airstrike in Baladul Rahma near Basra, Somalia according to a field investigation by Amnesty International – though US Africa Command continues to deny that any civilians were harmed. In a press release from AFRICOM issued at the time, it had said it carried
A ground operation struck a minibus carrying civilians, killing one woman and injuring up to six others, local media reported. While one source claimed that the attack was conducted by drone, others said it was a ground operation, involving Somali and possibly also US troops. AFRICOM later denied responsibility for civilian harm on the grounds
The United States launched a series of drone attacks on al-Shabaab in Kismayo, according to residents, who reported strikes on three locations. The BBC reported that “At least three targets were hit around Kismayo, the southern port which is under the control of the militants. One reconnaissance drone is reported to have crashed… al-Shabaab are patrolling the
On November 17th 2017, US Africa Command sent the Bureau of Investigative Journalism a list of previously unreported strikes, which included this one. An AFRICOM spokesperson explained that their goal “is to be as transparent as possible while taking into account operational security, force protection and diplomatic sensitivities.” It therefore did not proactively release information
AFRICOM publicly reported the first of four strikes on the same area on the same day – asserting that it had killed eight al Shabaab militants in the vicinity of Gandarshe. The tweet was issued shortly after noon GMT, indicating that the attack was earlier that morning. Two days later AFRICOM revealed that it had
The US military carried out an airstrike in Jilib, Middle Juba region, according to a press release issued the following day by US Africa Command. AFRICOM asserted that one terrorist was killed in the strike, and that it currently assessed that no civilians were harmed in the action. For the first time and in the
AFRICOM publicly reported two strikes on the same area on the same day – asserting that it had killed 28 al Shabaab militants in total in the vicinity of Gandarshe. Another four strikes took place at the same location the previous day on December 15th, it said – killing another 34 militants. “All six airstrikes
In a major Amnesty International report on civilian harm in Somalia, published in March 2019, the NGO made passing reference to a civilian harm event on August 14th the previous year in the vicinity of Baladul-Rahma and Geeshaan, near Basraa. According to the report, “on 14 August 2018, the US military conducted additional air strikes
Local reports claimed that US airstrikes had targeted al Shabaab bases near Hargessa Yarey village in Middle Juba, in support of ground operations by Somali forces. AFRICOM itself did not publicly report any strikes on this date. According to Goobjoog News, “Airstrike operations targeting Al-Shabab militant launch by U.S Africom with Somalia forces in Middle
Several days after the events, US Africa Command press released that it had conducted five airstrikes in the vicinity of Janaale during March 16th-17th. Somali state media and government reported the same strikes but said they took place on March 15th-16th. AFRICOM said the actions were in support of ground operations by Somalia forces, while noting
An unidentified airstrike allegedly killed ten or eleven Al Shabaab members in Weelshit. Strategic Intelligence wrote: “Unidentified aerial strike at 1145pm on 06.10.2020 killed 10 Terrorist who are members of the Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia, Harakat Shabaab al Mujahideen alongside their operations commander.” It added: “The blitz in Weelshit, Gedo targeted Shabaab al Mujahideen terrorists
On August 14th 2022 there were reports that a US airstrike killed 13 to 14 members of Al Shabaab in the town of Beledweyne, in Hiran region of central Somalia, as reported by a state-owned national television. US AFRICOM confirmed this strike on August 17th in a statement which said that “US forces engage insurgents
Mepa News reported that according to local sources, US airstrikes on the Buk Akable settlement resulted in the death of three civilians, including women and children, and the injury of seven others. The source stated that Somalia government media was claiming that those killed were members of al-Shabaab and that AFRICOM has not released a
At least one and as many as seven al Shabaab militants were killed in a naval raid carried out by US forces in Barawe, Lower Shabelle, international media reported. There were no reports of civilian harm. It was not at first clear who was the target of the raid. Reports varied from an unnamed Chechen;
Somali 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
AFRICOM reported on the same day that it had “conducted an airstrike in Somalia against an al-Shabaab camp on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at approximately 10:30 a.m. local Somalia time”. It added that “the operation occurred 125 miles northwest of the capital, Mogadishu” though AFRICOM made no mention of civilian harm. However, it claimed that the
US forces carried out a strike on August 21st, killing two al Shabaab fighters, according to a press release from US Africa Command. The strike hit approximately 46 kilometers northeast of Kismayo, a port city in southern Somalia. The Command said it had assessed that no civilians were killed or injured in this strike. US
US Africa Command reported that it had conducted an airstrike “in the vicinity of Gandarshe, Lower Shebelle Region, Somalia, on February 3, 2019”. AFRICOM added that “at this time, it was assessed no civilians were injured or killed in either airstrike.” It did not specify whether any belligerent forces had been killed or injured. According to
The US military carried out an airstrike near Baled Amin in the Lower Shabelle region, according to a press release issued 48 hours later by US Africa Command. The strike killed two al Shabaab fighters according to AFRICOM, which also asserted that it currently determined that no civilians had been harmed in the attack. “Al-Shabaab
Unknown aircraft were reported to have struck the vicinity of Qalimow village about 60km north of Mogadishu on the night of July 24th-25th. Villagers told local media that several missiles had targeted Al-Shabab vehicles. The attack – which almost all sources said was by drone – followed the recent recapture of Qalimow from Somalia forces.