US forces carried out a strike against al Shabaab in an area around 50 kilometres north of Kismayo, a US Africa Command spokesperson later told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Post-strike analysis had not revealed the number of militants killed, a US spokesperson told the Bureau in an email exchange on July 31st. The event was also confirmed to US reporter Amanda Sperber as part of her 2019 investigation for The Nation.

On the same day, Reuters reported a major attack by al Shabaab on a Somali military base at Baar Sanguni, about 50 km (31 miles) north of Kismayo – which had killed 27 soldiers. Similarities in the reports suggest the US strike may have been a part of a counteraction.

This was the only strike publicly declared by AFRICOM for July 2019. However as Sperber notes, this may not be the actual case: “This lack of transparency has produced an almost total sense of confusion over what the United States is doing with its air attacks in Somalia. Three previously unreported strikes came to light as I investigated the story of an attack relayed by Khadija Hassan Ali, a mother of three from Marka, a city about 60 miles south of Mogadishu…

AFRICOM did not publicly announce any strikes in July, but a document leaked to me by an international human-rights organization indicated an attack on July 25 in Qalimow, a village to the north of Mogadishu and about 95 miles from Ali’s home. I approached AFRICOM and asked if any strikes had occurred between July 22 and 27. Applying RTQ, a spokesperson acknowledged a strike on July 23 but would not specify the location. After weeks of pressing, AFRICOM said the strike happened 30 miles north of Kismayo, Somalia’s southern port city, which is hundreds of miles from both Qalimow and Marka.

This information only makes the situation more puzzling: When asked to avow a strike that a major international organization noted on July 25th, AFRICOM admitted a strike in an entirely different location on July 23, and neither of these strikes match Ali’s recollections. In other words, there may have been three different strikes—one acknowledged by AFRICOM, one noted by the international organization, and one recalled by Ali—all around the same time, none of which were previously made public, and only one of which came to light via RTQ.”

The incident occured in the morning.

AFRICOM reported that the previous day it had “conducted two (2) airstrikes targeting al-Shabaab militants near Jilib, Middle Juba Region, Somalia, on January 23, 2019.”

It also asserted that “at this time we assess no civilians were injured or killed in these airstrikes.”

AFRICOM gave no figures on the number of belligerents killed. Associated Press confirmed the strikes and reported that AFRICOM “will no longer give details on fighters killed or damage done”, and claimed that future reporting of deaths and damages will remain at the discretion of the Somali Government.

Responding to an enquiry from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, AFRICOM stated: “We constantly review our reporting practices to ensure we provide the most pertinent information available that resonates with US and international audiences. This review includes an analysis of what resonates with media in its coverage of US Africa Command through our press releases and interviews.

“Because we are looking for better ways to communicate the strategic importance of our operations in support of our partners, we may not always lead with casualty numbers in our initial release. We also may be assessing the results of the strike and may not have complete information before we publish the press release. In those cases, we will provide casualty figures in response to query.”

The Washington Examiner was told that one militant died in the strikes [which Airwars has assigned to the other event on this date]: “‘We no longer discuss battle damage assessments resulting from our airstrikes,’ said Maj. Karl Wiest, a spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command, in response to an inquiry from the Washington Examiner. When pressed, Wiest said in a follow-up email that the U.S. assesses the Wednesday strikes killed one al-Shabaab militant. ‘While enemy casualties are an expected outcome of strike operations, the resulting number of EKIA [Enemy Killed in Action] is much less important to understand than how these strikes are helping our Somali partners achieve their strategic security objectives,’ Wiest added.”

This incident came after the deadliest airstrike in some time four days previously, which reportedly killed from 52 to 73 alleged belligerents.

In a subsequent FOIA response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, AFRICOM again confirmed it had struck on this date what it says was an al Shabaab checkpoint, near Jilib. The US command also identified a second strike that day on an “al Shabaab named objective”, also near Jilib, which we list separately for this date.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

An airstrike near Jilib killed one al Shabaab fighter, according to US Africa Command. There were no known reports of civilian harm, an official press statement asserted.

“At this time, it is assessed the airstrike killed one (1) terrorist. Strikes near Jilib disrupt al-Shabaab’s freedom of maneuver.  Currently, we assess no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this airstrike,” the press release read.

Hivsasa later reported that the strike was said to have targeted “an Al-Shabaab operative who has been reportedly on [the] run after being put on black books by KDF and allied forces. Tuesday’s strike aimed at the militant, whose details were not immediately released by the forces, but he’s accused of organising several successful attacks.”

AFRICOM later informed the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that there had been a second strike in the vicinity of Jilib on this date, which is listed as a separate event.

According to Halgan Media, the strike took place on the road between Jilib town and the port city of Kismaayo.

Taqwa Media reported similar, while also suggesting more details of the strike: “Drone strike against al Shabaab targets has killed a high-value target (HVT), an al Shabaab leader on the road connecting Jilib town and the port city of Kismayu in Somalia. The drone strikes yet to be confirmed hit and neutralized the vehicle of the al Shabaab leader and his bodyguards approximately 1050hrs in southern Somalia.”

The incident occured at approximately 10:50 am local time.