Airwars assessment
AFRICOM publicly reported that it had “conducted conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants in the vicinity of Kunyo Barrow, Somalia, on October 25, 2018”.
It added: “We also currently assess this airstrike did not injure or kill any civilians.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the airstrike “killed two (2) militants and destroyed one (1) vehicle.”
Voice of America later reported that “The Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) says a senior Al-Shabaab official in charge of collecting finances has been killed in the US strike on Thursday [October 25th] near Kunyo Barrow. NISA has not disclosed the name of the individual targeted.”
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 Kunyo Barrow, Somalia.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
Sources (3) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention that the strike took place in the vicinity of the village of Kunyo Barrow (حرمك), for which the coordinates are: 0.7928186, 43.3841839. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
United States Armed 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 in the vicinity of Kunyo Barrow, Somalia, on October 25, 2018.
We currently assess this airstrike killed two (2) militants and destroyed one (1) vehicle.
We also currently assess this airstrike did not injure or kill any civilians.
This precision airstrike was conducted in support of the Federal Government of Somalia as it continues to degrade al-Shabaab. Airstrikes reduce al-Shabaab’s ability to plot future attacks, disrupt its leadership networks, and degrade its freedom of maneuver within the region.
Alongside our Somali and international partners, we are committed to preventing al-Shabaab from taking advantage of safe havens from which they can build capacity and attack the people of Somalia. In particular, the group uses portions of southern and central Somalia to plot and direct terror attacks, steal humanitarian aid, extort the local populace to fund its operations, and shelter radical terrorists.
The desired end state in East Africa is one in which terrorist organizations cannot destabilize Somalia and its neighboring states, nor threaten the interests of the U.S. and its international allies in the region. Accordingly, U.S. Africa Command will continue to work with its partners to transfer the responsibility for long-term security in Somalia from the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) to the Federal Government of Somalia and its Member States.