Incident Code

USSOM237a-C

Location

جيليب, Jilib, Middle Juba, Somalia

Geolocation

0.7928186, 43.3841839
Accuracy: Neighbourhood/area

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

Al Shabaab members or civilians were allegedly killed in US strikes near Jilib and Basra. AFRICOM later denied conducting strikes in the area.

Harun Maruf reported: “Overnight airstrikes killed dozens of Al-Shabaab militants in Jilib, Cmdr of AS’s Hisba police station in the town, Hassan Dhere, his deputy and a 3rd official among the dead, per sources. Most casualties occurred at a militia camp and at an explosives training facility.”

Jeff Seldin tweeted afterwards that AFRICOM “says it was not them who targeted #AlShabaab — no strikes in #Somalia in the past 24 hours.”

Caasimada said: “The shelling occurred at midnight last night and is reported to have been targeted at four al-Shabaab bases.

The bombings include a district headquarters, a base, a suicide bombing station and another location where fighters reportedly were preparing to attack the positions of the Jubbaland and AMISOM forces in Banaranguuni, Lower Juba region.

About 20 fighters have been killed in targeted attacks on the district headquarters, online sources have confirmed.”

Abdullahi Ali Warsame wrote: “Jubbaland administration says the US DRONES destroyed four locations belonging to Al-Shabaab, at Jilib district . Hundred fighters who under training feared dead. High ranking included Xasan Dheere, iyo mo,alin ali and Husain Ali who was trainer,5 prisoners there killed.”

AFRICOM later responded to an apparent civilian casualty allegation in its first quarterly report: “AFRICOM received two allegations from two social media accounts claiming five (5) civilians were killed as a result of U.S. airstrikes in the vicinity of Jilib and Basra, Somalia. After review, the allegations were assessed to be unsubstantiated because no U.S. military strike took place on the alleged date or locations.”

The allegations cannot be found at the moment.

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike
Strike Status
Contested strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Discounted
Those killed were combatants, or other parties most likely responsible.
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions

Geolocation Notes

Reports mention strikes on a militia camp, explosives training facility and district headquarters in the vicinity of Jilib (جيليب) town, for which the generic coordinates are: 0.7928186, 43.3841839. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Military Statements

U.S. Forces Assessment
Suspected belligerent
U.S. Forces
U.S. Forces position on incident
Non credible / Unsubstantiated
Reason for non-credible assessment
No Coalition strikes were conducted in the geographical area
Civilian deaths conceded
None
Civilian injuries conceded
None
U.S. Forces Civilian Casualty Statement
2020-04-27
Original Source
AFRICOM received two allegations from two social media accounts claiming five (5) civilians were killed as a result of U.S. airstrikes in the vicinity of Jilib and Basra, Somalia. After review, the allegations were assessed to be unsubstantiated because no U.S. military strike took place on the alleged date or locations.

Media From Sources (2)