Civilian Casualties

Civilian Casualties

Incident Code

USSOM221

Incident date

May 9, 2019

Location

Jamaame, Lower Juba, Somalia

Geolocation

0.06978, 42.748066 Note: The accuracy of this location is to Town level. Continue to map

Airwars assessment

According to local sources, an airstrike by an unknown party targeted a ‘foreign al Shabaab commander’ around dawn on May 9th 2019.

According to Horn Globe, “A second huge blast was heard in Jamame town, around dawn. The target of the second air attack was al-Shabaab commander in charge of planning operations, a Somali intelligence officer in Mogadishu has told Horn Globe. His fate is yet unknown as the intel officer says they were assessing the situation there. Jamaame is about 522km from Mogadishu.

“There was no any press release from the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) in relation to the two air strikes in Jilib and Jamame.”

According to Fallaro, “in Jamame district in Lower Juba region, a nighttime bombardment occurred, and it was reported that leader Abddinur Hussein, a close ally of Ahmed Godane, was reportedly targeted. The death toll is said to have risen to five members of Al-Shabaab and there are other casualties, although their exact number is not yet known.”

Asked whether it had been responsible for this event, in February 2020 a senior AFRICOM official told Airwars that this was not the case. However, this may not preclude actions by the CIA which conducts its own undeclared strikes in Somalia.

The incident occured around dawn.

Geolocation notes

Reports of the incident mention that the strike took place in the town Jamaame, for which the coordinates are: 0.06978, 42.748066. Due to limited information and satellite imagery available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected belligerents
    US Forces, US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    5

Sources (2) [ collapse]

Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]

US Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US Forces
  • US Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

US Forces Assessment:

  • Suspected belligerent
    US Forces
  • US Forces position on incident
    Not yet assessed

Summary

  • Strike status
    Contested strike
  • Strike type
    Airstrike, Drone Strike
  • Civilian harm reported
    No
  • Civilians reported killed
    Unknown
  • Cause of injury / death
    Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
  • Suspected belligerents
    US Forces, US Forces
  • Suspected target
    Al-Shabaab
  • Belligerents reported killed
    5

Sources (2) [ collapse]