Geolocation
Airwars assessment
AFRICOM declared that they had carried out an airstrike or drone strike that killed between 30 and 100 alleged militants approximately 260 km northeast of Mogadishu near Galcad, Somalia on January 20, 2023. There are no known reports of civilian harm.
US AFRICOM announced that “at the request of the Federal Government of Somalia and in support of Somali National Army engagements against al-Shabaab, U.S. Africa Command conducted a collective self-defense strike on Jan. 20, 2023. The strike occurred approximately 260 km northeast of Mogadishu near Galcad, Somalia where Somalia National Army forces were engaged in heavy fighting following a complex, extended, intense attack by more than 100 al-Shabaab fighters. The combined actions by partner forces on the ground and the collective self-defense strike is estimated to have resulted in three destroyed vehicles and approximately thirty al-Shabaab terrorists killed. Given the remote location of the fighting, the command assesses that no civilians were injured or killed.”
Reuters pointed out that the strike occurred on the same day that al-Shabaab militants stormed a Somali military base in Galcad, killing seven soldiers and exploding car bombs, but their attack was eventually repelled. Garowe clarified the timeline, reporting that the airstrike came after the ambush of the army base.
Reuters quoted Somalia’s Information Ministry who stated that their soldiers killed 100 of the group’s fighters and destroyed five gun-mounted pick-up vehicles (known as technicals,” which may have been part of the same operation that the US assisted with airstrikes. Hiiraan Online News quoted al-Shabaab who stated that they had “miraculously overrun the U.S.-trained forces” and killed over 150 government-associated fighters. A US defense official told CNN that there was no US military present on the ground when the airstrike occurred.
The majority of sources referred only to the incident as a “strike,” while @charlie_savage tweeted that the strike was carried out by a drone.
The local time of the incident is unknown.
Geolocation notes
Reports of the incident mention the village of Galcad, for which the generic coordinates are: 4.023380, 46.617680. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.
Summary
Sources (13) [ collapse]
Media
from sources (2) [ collapse]
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Graphic image of alleged al-Shabaab members killed during operations in Galcad on January 20, 2022. (Image posted by @SomaliaNews252) -
This media contains graphic content. Click to unblur.
Graphic image of alleged al-Shabaab members killed during operations in Galcad on January 20, 2022. (Image posted by @SomaliaNews252)
US Forces Assessment:
Original strike reports
Somali, U.S. forces engage insurgents in support of the Federal Government of Somalia
At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia and in support of Somali National Army engagements against al-Shabaab, U.S. Africa Command conducted a collective self-defense strike on Jan. 20, 2023.
The strike occurred approximately 260 km northeast of Mogadishu near Galcad, Somalia where Somalia National Army forces were engaged in heavy fighting following a complex, extended, intense attack by more than 100 al-Shabaab fighters.
The combined actions by partner forces on the ground and the collective self-defense strike is estimated to have resulted in three destroyed vehicles and approximately thirty al-Shabaab terrorists killed.
Given the remote location of the fighting, the command assesses that no civilians were injured or killed.
The U.S. is one of several countries providing support to the Federal Government of Somalia in its ongoing campaign to disrupt, degrade and defeat terrorist groups. Rooting out extremism ultimately requires intervention beyond traditional military means, leveraging U.S. and partner efforts to support effective governance, promote stabilization and economic development, and resolve ongoing conflicts.
U.S. Africa Command is the defense arm of the U.S. whole-of-government approach with African partners -- diplomacy, development and defense. This three-pronged, or “3D” approach aims to increase cooperation and support for “partner-led, U.S.-enabled” solutions to shared security challenges, including violent extremism or terrorism. All kinetic operations conducted and supported by U.S. Africa Command are done in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia.
Somalia remains central to stability and security in all of East Africa. U.S. Africa Command's forces will continue training, advising, and equipping partner forces to help give them the tools they need to defeat al-Shabaab, the largest and most deadly al-Qaeda network in the world.
U.S. Africa Command will continue to assess the results of this operation and will provide additional information as appropriate. Specific details about the units involved and assets used will not be released in order to ensure operations security.
The Federal Government of Somalia and U.S. Africa Command take great measures to prevent civilian casualties. Protecting civilians remains a vital part of the command's operations to promote greater security for all Africans. To view the U.S. Africa Command Quarterly Civilian Casualty reports, visit: https://www.africom.mil/what-we-do/airstrikes/civilian-casualty-report