Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USSOM098

Incident date

November 9, 2017

Location

Buulo Fuulay, Bay, Somalia

Geolocation

2.11064, 43.52329 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Village level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

AFRICOM reported on the same day it had “conducted an airstrike in Somalia against al-Shabaab on Thur., Nov. 9 at approximately 3 p.m. local Somalia time”.

It added that the “operation occurred in the Bay Region of Somalia, about 100 miles west of the capital, Mogadishu”. AFRICOM made no mention of civilian harm. However, it stated that the strike had killed “several militants”.

This and four additional strikes over the following three days killed “more than 40 terrorists,” 35 of them al Shabaab and five with ISIS, a Pentagon spokesperson later told reporters on November 13th. He did not say how many people were killed in which of the five strikes, “for operational reasons,” an AFRICOM spokesperson told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism on November 15th.

Associated Press reported the following for the November 9th attack: “A U.S. drone strike killed ‘several militants’ with al-Shabab in Somalia, the military said, as the Trump administration increasingly targets what has become the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa. The strike was carried out Thursday afternoon in the Bay Region, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of the capital, Mogadishu, according to a statement by the U.S. Africa Command. A spokeswoman told The Associated Press that no civilians were anywhere near the strike.”

In a subsequent FOIA response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, AFRICOM confirmed it had struck what it says were al Shabaab fighters on this date, in the vicinity of Buulo Fuulay.

The incident occured at approximately 3:00 pm local time.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention that the strike took place in the vicinity of the village Buulo Fuulay, for which the coordinates are: 2.11064, 43.52329. 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
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    2

Sources (8) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Africa Live/ CGTN report from November 13th 2017, on US strikes in Somalia,

US Forces Assessment:

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

Original strike reports

US Forces

In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Somalia against al-Shabaab on Thur., Nov. 9 at approximately 3 p.m. local Somalia time, killing several militants.

The operation occurred in the Bay Region of Somalia, about 100 miles west of the capital, Mogadishu.

Al-Shabaab has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and is dedicated to providing safe haven for terrorist attacks throughout the world. Al-Shabaab has publicly committed to planning and conducting attacks against the U.S. and our partners in the region.

U.S. forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect Americans and to disable terrorist threats. This includes partnering with AMISOM and Somali National Security Forces (SNSF); targeting terrorists, their training camps and safe havens throughout Somalia, the region and around the world."

Via May 2019 FOIA:
"11/9/17: AS IVO Buulo Fuulay, Somalia - al Shabaab fighters"

Summary

  • Strike status
    Declared strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Known belligerent
    US Forces
  • Known target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    2

Sources (8) [ collapse]