Airwars assessment
Several militants were allegedly killed or injured by an Al Shabaab VBIED and subsequent exchange of gunfire near Janay Cabdalle.
The New York Times reported: “Three Somali military officers were killed and two others injured along with an American service member in a bombing in southern Somalia on Monday, the authorities said, the latest example of a deadly insurgency that has continued to wreak havoc in the Horn of Africa nation.
Officials in Jubaland State said an explosives-laden pickup truck exploded around 8 a.m. at a military outpost in the Jana Abdalle area in the Lower Juba region of southern Somalia. The attack came just days after Somali forces, with the support of American military personnel, reclaimed the area from the Somali terrorist group Al Shabab.”
Somali Memo, close to Al Shabaab, said: “Al-Shabaab said in a statement that the car bomb attack killed at least 16 US-trained militants and wounded 12 others.”
Caleb Weiss quotes another Al Shabaab statement saying “the suicide bombing killed and wounded 7 US soldiers and killed 16 Somali special forces.”
The AFRICOM statement said: “One U.S. service member was injured in an attack by al-Shabaab this morning in the vicinity of Jana Cabdalle, Somalia. U.S. and Somali forces were conducting an advise, assist and accompany mission when al-Shabaab attacked using a vehicle employed as an improvised explosive device and mortar fire. The U.S. service member is in stable condition and receiving treatment for injuries that are not assessed to be life-threatening. It is also assessed at least one al-Shabaab fighter was killed during the attack.”
The incident occured at approximately 8:00 am local time.
Summary
Sources (13) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the vicinity of Jana Abdalle, for which the generic coordinates are: 0.02819, 42.287022. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
US Forces Assessment:
Original strike reports
The following statement is attributed to Col. Chris Karns, U.S. Africa Command’s director of public affairs:
One U.S. service member was injured in an attack by al-Shabaab this morning in the vicinity of Jana Cabdalle, Somalia. U.S. and Somali forces were conducting an advise, assist and accompany mission when al-Shabaab attacked using a vehicle employed as an improvised explosive device and mortar fire. The U.S. service member is in stable condition and receiving treatment for injuries that are not assessed to be life-threatening. It is also assessed at least one al-Shabaab fighter was killed during the attack.
The U.S. regularly conducts advise and assist missions with Somali partner forces. The collective efforts of the U.S. and Somalia place pressure on al-Shabaab, limiting their ability to extend their reach and movement. al-Shabaab remains a dangerous enemy. Continued pressure is being placed on this Al Qaeda-affiliated threat to limit its ability to expand and export violence, terrorism, and crime more broadly.