Incident date
January 21, 2017
LOCATION
مديرية الصومعة, Al Sama'a, Al Bayda, YemenThere were some unconfirmed reports of a January 21st US drone strike in Sama’a, al-Bayda province, killing up to three alleged AQAP militants. The strike was reported to have occurred in the same general area as a second, confirmed strike on the same day. All but one source said that three militants had died in
Summary
Incident date
January 21, 2017
LOCATION
مديرية الصومعة, Al Suma'a, Al Bayda, YemenOn January 25th 2017, a US spokesperson stated that a strike in al-Bayda governorate on January 21st had killed three “AQAP operatives”. This confirmed reports that a drone strike had targeted a vehicle in Suma’a district on that evening. There were no known reports of civilian casualties. A number of public sources had earlier reported
Summary
Incident date
January 20, 2017
LOCATION
مديرية الصومعة, Al Suma'a, Al Bayda, YemenOn January 25th 2017, a US spokesperson confirmed that a strike took place in al-Bayda governorate on January 20th, killing one AQAP operative. This confirmed reports that a US drone strike in al-Suma’a district, Bayda governorate, killed at least one alleged AQAP militant on that afternoon. There were no known reports of civilian harm. January
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
December 5, 2016
LOCATION
الجيزة, Giza, Surt, LibyaCampaign overview: The United States began a major air campaign in support of and at the request of GNA ground forces, to oust ISIS from the city of Sirte. Complete official records of the US campaign at Sirte – which saw 497 airstrikes on the city to December 5th 2016 – can be found here.
Summary
Incident date
December 2, 2016
LOCATION
سرت, Sirte, Surt, LibyaOn December 2nd, Mohamed Lajnef posted pictures of two injured children on Facebook, saying they had been liberated from ISIS. On December 5th Libya’s Channel reported Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous rescued over a hundred children and women from ISIS, some of the children severely injured. It showed pictures of two children: one is the same depicted in
Summary
Incident date
October 28, 2016
LOCATION
سرت, Sirte, Surt, LibyaLibya’s Channel and Libya Akhbar reported on October 28th that ISIS was using civilians as human shields and that the evacuation of civilians was causing delay to the GNA campaign. The outlets both referred to Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous spokesman Rida Issa: “A member of the media centre of the Chamber of Operation, Rida Issa, said that
Summary
Incident date
October 24, 2016
LOCATION
الجيزة, Giza, Surt, LibyaThe US conducted four airstrikes in the Giza neighbourhood in Sirte. One source on Facebook mentioned that Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous soldiers found seven dead bodies of civilians in a house. The bodies were apparently charred. According to Madridi Aween, “Our rebels found a number of bodies in several houses in the camp during a search by the
Summary
Incident date
October 20, 2016
LOCATION
الجيزة, Giza, Surt, LibyaOn October 21st Ahmed El Sharkawy claimed that the bodies of children and women were trapped under rubble in Giza but didn’t say what the reason for the destruction was. No additional details are presently known.
Summary
Incident date
October 12, 2016
LOCATION
Vicinity of Water Tower, Surt, LibyaAccording to several sources on Twitter, at least two civilians died in a US airstrike in the morning in Sirte, one of them a child. The sources did not give clear estimates on casualties, though the pictures show two people most likely dead. Two more injured children can be spotted in the images. One source
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 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
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
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 12, 2016
LOCATION
بالقرب مدرسة خليج التحدي, Vicinity of Gulf Challenge School, Surt, LibyaVarious sources reported the death of Mohammed al-Qadhafi as a result of a US airstrike on his family home in Sirte. Tek burns everything said on Facebook: “Mohammed al-Qadhafi, from Farajan of the family of Alwasa name of his mother, Haniyeh Faraj, lives in outside the planned district next to the Gulf Challenge School. Today,
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
August 3, 2016
LOCATION
سرت, Sirte, Surt, LibyaIn an alleged friendly fire incident, a US strike in Sirte was reported to have accidentally killed 13 Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous members. According to Erem News, LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari commented on the incident: “Colonel Ahmed al-Mismari reported the killing of 13 GNA soldiers in a US aircraft by mistake, which was targeting elements of Daesh
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