Incident Code
Incident Code
Incident Date
Location
Geolocation
Geolocation
Airwars Assessment
(Previous Incident Code: SOM081)
AFRICOM reported that the previous day it had “conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab militants in the early morning hours of Jan. 2, 2018, approximately 50 kilometers west of the capital [Mogadishu]”.
It added: “We assess no civilians were killed in this strike.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the airstrike killed “two terrorists” and destroyed “one vehicle-borne improvised explosive device”. Somalia Live claimed the strike had also targeted an al Shabaab commander.
#UPDATE: An air strike targets a vehicle believed to carried AlShabaab commander in Bariire town in Lower Shabeelle region. #Somalia
— Somalia Live Update (@HassanIstiila) January 2, 2018
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 and VBIED”, in the vicinity of Bariire, Somalia.
This was the second strike in a week in which US Africa Command said it had hit a VBIED.
Key Information
Geolocation Notes
Reports of the incident mention that the strike took place in the area 50 kilometers west of Mogadishu, near the village of Bariire, for which the coordinates are: 2.04707, 44.89832. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.