Geolocation
Airwars assessment
On June 4th 2018, AFRICOM reported that it had “conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants approximately 26 miles southwest of Bosasso, Somalia, on June 2”.
It added: “We currently assess no civilians were injured or killed in this airstrike.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the airstrike killed “twenty-seven (27) terrorists.”
As Voice of America noted, “Saturday’s airstrike came after al-Shabab extremists attacked a military base in Puntland, claiming to have killed five soldiers, wounding seven and destroying Somali military equipment.”
Garowe Online said the al Shabaab attack had been on a Puntland security force base near Balli Khadar in the Galgala hills – a possible location for the following US 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”, in the vicinity of Puntland, Somalia.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
Sources (5) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes (1) [ collapse]
Reports of the incident mention that the strike took place in the area 26 miles southwest of the city Bosaso (بوصاصو), for which the generic coordinates are: 11.000004, 48.919238. Garowe Online said the al Shabaab attack had been on a Puntland security force base near Balli Khadar in the Galgala mountains. It is possible that the strike, in response to the attack, took place in the vicinity of the base, in the Galgala hills. The area is indeed around 26 miles southwest of Bosaso. The coordinates for Balli Khadar are: 10.953175, 49.132731. The generic coordinates for the Galgala mountains are: 10.990969, 49.009422. 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 targeting al-Shabaab militants approximately 26 miles southwest of Bosasso, Somalia, on June 2, killing twenty-seven (27) terrorists.
We currently 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.