Library image of an armed Reaper drone, December 2019 (US Air Force/ Senior Sergeant Haley Stevens)
The US military reported on the same day that it had conducted an airstrike against al Shabaab fighters in the town of Jilib. However it was locally claimed that the attack had killed three young children, whose bodies were shown on social media. In a press release published on the evening of the attack, AFRICOM
In its latest actions in support of Somali ground forces, AFRICOM confirmed that it had conducted airstrikes on al Shabaab positions “in the vicinity of Qeycad” on August 1st. Statements published by both the Somali Ministry of Information and Galmudug State referred to two separate strikes, which Airwars is therefore treating as separate events. Galmudug
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
A 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
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
A late night US strike on the village of Arbiska was reported by Radio Shabelle. According to the local news outlet, “Suspected American fighter jets were reported to have carried out an overnight airstrike in Lower Shabelle region, targeting Al-Shabaab bases, residents said. The strike happened on the outskirt of Arbiska village, located near the capital,
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
The US military carried out an airstrike in Garowle, Lower Shabelle region, according to a press release issued by US Africa Command the following day. The release asserted that two terrorists were killed in the strike, and that one motorcycle was also destroyed. It further noted that AFRICOM currently assessed that no civilians were harmed
AFRICOM publicly reported four strikes on the same area on the same day – asserting that it had killed 34 al Shabaab militants in total in the vicinity of Gandarshe. Another two strikes took place on December 16th, it said – killing another 28 militants. “All six airstrikes were conducted in close coordination with the
A reported precision airstrike by an unidentified aircraft at Buaale, Middle Juba was said to have killed up to 50 fighters with local Al Qaeda affiliate al Shabaab – along with a named senior leader. The event was first reported by Kenyan media – though reports did not identify which nation had conducted the alleged
Local reports claimed that US airstrikes had targeted al Shabaab bases near Sakow in Middle Juba, in support of ground operations by Somali forces. AFRICOM itself did not publicly report any strikes on this date. Goobjoog News reported what it said were US strikes in support of Somali ground operations “around Sakow district, the airstrike
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
A US airstrike targeted a vehicle in Jana Cabdalle, AFRICOM confirmed to Airwars via email. The Africa Command stated: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted one airstrike in Jana Cabdalle, Somalia on Sept. 21 to prevent a military vehicle from being commandeered by al-Shabaab terrorists. The command’s initial assessment
AFRICOM declared conducting an airstrike on September 18th 2022 against Al-Shabaab terrorists who were reportedly attacking the Somalia National Army forces near Buulobarde, Somalia. The US confirmed responsibility for killing 27 militants in this strike, according to the US, with the Somalia National Army saying that over 100 militants were killed in the whole operation
13 al-Shabaab militants were killed by declared US airstrikes in the vicinity of Seiera in Lower Jubba on August 26, 2023. AFRICOM announced that “At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted a collective self-defense airstrike against al Shabaab terrorists in the vicinity of Seiera, Somalia, approximately 45 kilometers northwest
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,
Chinese 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
On the same day, AFRICOM reported that it had “conducted an airstrike against ISIS, in northeastern Somalia on Nov. 27”. It added that “the strike occurred at approximately 3 p.m. local Somalia time” and made no mention of civilian harm. However, it did claim that the strike had “killed one terrorist”. Reuters placed the attack near Qandala:
US forces carried out a strike on August 27th killing three alleged members of al Shabaab, US Africa Command declared two days later, The strike hit approximately 40 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu. The official statement read: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. forces conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants approximately 40 kilometers
US Africa Command reported on the same day that it had “conducted an airstrike in the vicinity of Leego, Bay Region, Somalia, on February 5, 2019.” According to AFRICOM this was the second airstrike it undertook over a 48 hour period, the first occurring on February 3rd in Gandarshe, Lower Shebelle Region. AFRICOM added that
The US military carried out an airstrike in the Golis Mountains, according to a press release from US Africa Command. Unusually for recent strikes in the area, the attack targeted al Shabaab rather than ISIS according to AFRICOM. The strike reportedly killed three al Shabaab fighters, with AFRICOM saying that it currently assessed no civilians had
An investigation by journalist Amanda Sperber identified a possible US airstrike near Basra around the time of Eid in August 2018, which allegedly killed between 10 and 12 members of the same family. Airwars has provided a relatively wide date range for this event, based on limited reporting. The investigation, published by The Nation in
Local reports claimed that a pair of airstrikes by unknown international powers – presumably either the United States or Kenya – had targeted al Shabaab fighters in the towns of Jamaame and Buaale. According to Radio Kulmiye, “Another airstrikes were reported [on October 25th] from Middle Juba region, highly controlled by Al-Shabaab. Witnesses said that
Two Al Shabaab members were killed and another wounded in two or more US airstrikes near Saakow, according to AFRICOM. The US later said the pair, a husband and wife, were both active terrorists within al Shabaab. The initial press release said: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an
Two civilian were reported killed by US ground troops near Shanta Baraako in an apparent distortion of an In These Times investigation. AFRICOM later discounted the allegation. The In These Times report alleged that Waliyo Cali Qaasim and Abdikadir Ali were killed by Danab special forces in a counter-terrorism operation. In a post in the
A US airstrike targeted an Al Shabaab compound in Tiyeeglow, according to AFRICOM. The press release said: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command forces conducted one airstrike in the vicinity of Tiyeeglow, Somalia, Jan. 18, 2021. Initial assessments indicate the strike destroyed one al-Shabaab compound. The command’s initial assessment is
AFRICOM declared that they had carried out an airstrike or drone strike that killed between 30 and 100 alleged militants approximately 260 km northeast of Mogadishu near Galcad, Somalia on January 20, 2023. There are no known reports of civilian harm. US AFRICOM announced that “at the request of the Federal Government of Somalia and in
On January 21st, 2024, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) conducted a drone strike against the Al-Shabaab militant group 35 kilometers northeast of the city of Kismayo in the Lower Juba region of Somalia, reportedly killing three militants. To date, there have been no reports of civilian casualties in connection to the strike. Two days later, on
The destroyer USS Chafee, sailing off the coast of Somalia, fired ‘more than a dozen rounds from its 5-inch gun’ on militants in Bargal, north Somalia. The New York Times also reported that cruise missiles were fired. Somali government spokesmen claimed the strikes were launched after around 35 heavily armed militants landed on the coast near
Unidentified jets reportedly bombed three villages – Yasooman, Ceeldheer and Ceel Lahelay in the central Hiiraan region – all described as being under al Shabaab control. There were no reported casualties. According to All Africa: “An official says unidentified military jets bombed Al shabaab bases in the Somali region of Hiiraan on Sunday, the latest