Geolocation
Airwars assessment
AFRICOM reported that the previous day it had “conducted an airstrike against Al-Shabaab militants near Jilib, Somalia, the afternoon of April 5”.
It added: “We assess no civilians were killed in this airstrike.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the airstrike killed “three (3) terrorists” and destroyed “one (1) vehicle with a mounted heavy machine gun.”
In a subsequent FOIA response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, AFRICOM again confirmed it had struck on this date what it says were “al Shabaab fighters”, in the vicinity of Jilib, Somalia.
The incident occured in the afternoon.
Summary
Sources (7) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention that the strike took place in the vicinity of Jilib, for which the coordinates are: 0.494527, 42.777868. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
US Forces Assessment:
Original strike reports
U.S. Conducts Airstrike in Support of the Federal Government of Somalia
In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Forces conducted an airstrike against Al-Shabaab militants near Jilib, Somalia, the afternoon of April 5, killing three (3) terrorists and destroying one (1) vehicle with a mounted heavy machine gun.
We assess no civilians were killed in this airstrike.
U.S. forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect U.S. citizens and to disable terrorist threats. This includes partnering with AMISOM and Somali National Security Forces (SNSF) in combined counterterrorism operations and targeting terrorists, their training camps, and their safe havens throughout Somalia and the region.