Incident Code
Incident Code
Incident Date
Location
Geolocation
Geolocation
Airwars Assessment
(Previous Incident Code: SOM117)
AFRICOM reported that the previous day it had “conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants in the vicinity of Quy Cad near Debatscile, Somalia on November 27, 2018”.
It added: “We currently assess this airstrike did not injure or kill any civilians.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the airstrike had “killed three (3) militants”. It added “This follows successful strikes in the area on Nov. 19 and 20”.
Voice of America provided significant additional detail: “Local sources told VOA Somali that the latest strike targeted al-Shabab vehicles. The sources say the vehicles belonged to Abdishakur Mohamed Mire, a junior al-Shabab military commander. There was no confirmation on whether Mire was traveling in one of the vehicles at the time.”
In a subsequent FOIA response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, AFRICOM confirmed it had struck on this date what it says were “al Shabaab fighters”, in the vicinity of Debatschille, Somalia.
Key Information
Geolocation Notes
Reports of the incident mention that the strike took place in the vicinity of Quy Cad (or Caad/Aad), near Debatscile. The generic coordinates for Debatscile are: 5.172335, 48.123686. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to further verify the location.
Military Statements
Media From Sources (2)
BREAKING: U.S. military confirms carrying out new airstrike in Mudug region on Tuesday. Statement by @USAfricaCommand says 3 Al-Shabaab militants were killed in the strike. Earlier a local source told @voasomali that strike hit Al-Shabaab vehicles.
— Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) November 28, 2018