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Airwars Assessment
A high-ranking Al Shabaab operative was allegedly killed by a possible US drone strike in Sablale.
Mareeg reported: “A suspected US drone has carried out two airstrikes targeting high-ranking al Shabaab operatives in southern regions of Somalia.
[…]
The 2nd strike also killed a high-ranking al Shabaab operative identified as Ahmed Nour near Sablale town in Lower Shabelle region, according to Risaala.”
Somali Dispatch said: “Somali government officials confirmed to local news media in Mogadishu that Al-Shabaab leaders have been targeted.
Meanwhile, airstrikes hit Sablale, Lower Shabelle, and government officials said the target was an al-Shabaab official, adding that Ahmed Nur, a senior al-Shabaab member, was killed in that attack.”
In an email to Airwars, AFRICOM said it did not conduct the strike. This however leaves the possibility of a CIA strike.
Key Information
Geolocation Notes
Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of Sablale, for which the generic coordinates are: 1.251506, 43.807038. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.