Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USSOM068

Incident date

January 7, 2017

Location

Gaduud, Lower Juba, Somalia

Geolocation

-0.0741815, 42.5719168 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

In 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) forces and U.S. advisors” after al Shabaab fighters reportedly threatened their safety.

The press release referred to al Shabaab as an “al Qaeda-associated terrorist group”. Al Shabaab was by then considered to be an “associated force” of al Qaeda which gave the US military more leeway to target the group.

The local time of the incident is unknown.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention the town of Gaduud, for which the generic coordinates are: -0.0741815, 42.5719168. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Counter-Terrorism Action (Ground)
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al-Shabaab

Sources (1) [ collapse]

US Forces Assessment:

  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • US Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Original strike reports

US Forces

"On January 7, in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, Somali partner forces, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces and U.S. advisors conducted a self-defense strike against al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-associated terrorist group, in Gaduud, Somalia.

During a counterterrorism operation to disrupt al-Shabaab, the combined partner forces observed al-Shabaab fighters threatening their safety and security. The U.S. conducted a self-defense strike to neutralize the threat, no enemy fighters were killed."

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Counter-Terrorism Action (Ground)
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al-Shabaab

Sources (1) [ collapse]