Airwars assessment
Five Al Shabaab member were allegedly killed by a US airstrike on Saaxa Weyne.
The press release said: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command forces conducted one airstrike in the vicinity of Saaxa Weyne, Somalia, Jan. 7, 2021.
Initial assessments indicate the strike killed five al-Shabaab members including the targeted al-Shabaab leaders.
The command’s initial assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this operation.”
It quoted U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Dagvin Anderson saying: ““This strike targeted known al-Shabaab leaders who facilitated finance, weapons, fighters, and explosives. One is suspected of being involved in a previous attack against U.S. and Somali forces.”
Anadolu reported: “However, Speaking to Somali state television, Somali army chief Gen. Odowa Yusuf Rage said that eight top al-Shabaab leaders were killed in the airstrike, including area militant boss Mukhtar Nurow.”
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Summary
Sources (6) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (1) [ collapse]
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Saaxa Weyn, for which the generic coordinates are: 2.8263, 44.4789. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.