Incident Code
Incident Date
Location
Geolocation
Geolocation
Airwars Assessment
(Previous Incident Code: SOM013)
Two al Shabaab leaders were possibly killed in an alleged US or French-launched air or drone strike in Afgoye, Lower Shabelle, local and international media reported. No sources reported civilian harm.
Missiles were fired at a training camp in Afgoye, Lower Shabelle, according to al Shabaab. An initial report from the Suna Times stated: “US drone attack killed leaders Ahmed Godane and Hassan Dahir Aweys.”
However, these claims were later disputed. Michael Logan, then editor of Somalia Report, later tweeted “Looks like the deaths of al-Shabaab leaders were greatly exaggerated by the TFG, as usual.” A junior al Shabaab member allegedly told Somalia Report that the group suffered “some casualties.”
Associated Press debated who was responsible for the alleged strikes, with both French and US officials publicly suggesting the other nation may have carried out the attacks.
Key Information
Geolocation Notes
Reports of the incident mention that the strike took place in the town of Afgooye, for which the generic coordinates are: 2.14158, 45.118698. Strike likely occurred along the road between the two Agoi of Afgooye towns, as Laantbuur is listed where the strike hit. Geolocated to Afgooye as the closest major city. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.