Airwars assessment
The sixth declared US strike in five days hit Somalia, targeting al Shabaab fighters, the US military told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
An Africa Command spokesperson said the attack occurred at 0840 near Gaduud about 250 miles southwest of Mogadishu. As of November 15th, the US was still “assessing the results of the strike”.
The spokesperson said: “During a Somali-led counterterrorism operation, a group of armed al Shabaab terrorists posed an imminent threat to Somali-led and US forces, a threat which the Somali’s and their partners were unable to mitigate. In response, the US conducted a self-defence strike against the armed militant group to neutralise the threat.”
The spokesperson for Somalia’s security ministry told Voice of America that the strike hit in the town of Awhiigle. “It is part of an ongoing efforts [sic] to target the militant hideouts and bases, from where they organise attacks against our people,” he said. “The government and its partners are still assessing the results.”
The incident occured at approximately 8:40 am local time.
Summary
Sources (4) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Awhiigle, near the town of Gaduud. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location of Awhiigle. However, the generic coordinates for the town of Gaduud are: -0.0741815, 42.5719168.
United States Armed Forces Assessment:
Original strike reports
Via email:
"I can confirm that during a Somali-led counterterrorism operation, a group of armed al-Shabaab terrorists posed an imminent threat to Somali-led and U.S. forces, a threat which the Somali's and their partners were unable to mitigate. In response, the U.S. conducted a self-defense strike against the armed militant group to neutralize the threat.
The strike occurred at approximately 8:40 a.m., Monday, Nov. 13, near Gaduud, about 250 miles southwest of the capital, Mogadishu.
We are currently assessing the results of the strike."