Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USSOM104

Incident date

November 14, 2017

Location

Idow Jalaad, near Leego, Lower Shabelle, Somalia

Geolocation

2.673919, 44.635426 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Neighbourhood/area level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

A US strike killed “several” al Shabaab fighters in the seventh aerial attack in Somalia in six days.

Lower Shabelle’s deputy governor told Voice of America the strike had killed six al Shabaab fighters in the village of Idow Jalad.

A statement from US Africa Command said the strike was carried out “in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia” and hit at approximately 1800 local time in an area about 60 miles northwest of Mogadishu.

A subsequent FOIA response obtained by investigative reporter Nick Turse revealed that the strike had taken place in the vicinity of Leego, against “al Shabaab fighters.”

The incident occured at approximately 6:00 pm local time.

Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]

Reports of the incident mention the village of Idow Jalad, 60 miles northwest of Mogadishu and 30km away from Wanla Weyn. A subsequent FOIA response pointed to the vicinity of Leego as the location of the strike. The coordinates for Leego are: 2.71437, 44.50902. Due to limited information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location of Idow Jalad. Another report mentions the following: “We killed 15 of them and captured Yaq Buraweyne, Madah Marodi and Idow Jalad villages”, suggesting that these villages are close. Yaq Buraweyne and Madah Marodi are indeed located between Leego and Wanla Weyn, suggesting that Idow Jalad must be in the same area. The coordinates for this area are: 2.673919, 44.635426.

  • Madah Marodi and Yaq Buraweyne between the towns Wanla Weyn and Leego (30 km radius around Wanla Weyn marked in red)

    Imagery:
    Google Earth

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
    2–6

Sources (5) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

  • Defense One published a map on November 15th 2017, locating recent US drone strikes against both al Shabaab and ISIS

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 Tuesday, Nov. 14 at approximately 6 p.m. local Somalia time, killing several militants.

The operation occurred 60 miles northwest of the capital, Mogadishu."

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
    2–6

Sources (5) [ collapse]