Incident date
November 9, 2017
LOCATION
Buulo Fuulay, Bay, SomaliaAFRICOM reported on the same day it had “conducted an airstrike in Somalia against al-Shabaab on Thur., Nov. 9 at approximately 3 p.m. local Somalia time”. It added that the “operation occurred in the Bay Region of Somalia, about 100 miles west of the capital, Mogadishu”. AFRICOM made no mention of civilian harm. However, it stated that
Summary
Incident date
October 16, 2017
LOCATION
Farah Waeys, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaA US drone strike near Bariire on October 16th was confirmed by the US military. However, numerous allegations of civilian harm by international media have been denied. Whilst US Africa Command did not initially publish a press release regarding this strike, they confirmed to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism at the time that they carried
Summary
Incident date
October 2, 2017
LOCATION
مبارك, Mubaraak, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaOn November 17th 2017, US Africa Command sent the Bureau of Investigative Journalism a list of previously unreported strikes, which included this one. An AFRICOM spokesperson explained that their goal “is to be as transparent as possible while taking into account operational security, force protection and diplomatic sensitivities.” It therefore did not proactively release information
Summary
Incident date
September 30, 2017
LOCATION
حرمك, Kunya Barrow, Middle Juba, SomaliaOn November 17th 2017, US Africa Command sent the Bureau of Investigative Journalism a list of previously unreported strikes, which included this one. An AFRICOM spokesperson explained that their goal “is to be as transparent as possible while taking into account operational security, force protection and diplomatic sensitivities.” It therefore did not proactively release information
Summary
Incident date
September 12, 2017
LOCATION
حرمك, Kunya Barrow, Middle Juba, SomaliaThe US carried out an air strike on September 13th, killing six al Shabaab members, according to a press release from US Africa Command. The strike took place at approximately 0215 local time (1115 GMT), hitting an area in southern Somalia about 260km south of the capital, AFRICOM said. The original press release said three
Summary
Incident date
September 7, 2017
LOCATION
حرمك, Kunya Barrow, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaAFRICOM reported that the previous day it had conducted “a precision airstrike in Somalia against al-Shabaab on Thurs., Sept. 7 at approximately 2:45 p.m. local Somalia time”. The release made no mention of civilian harm. However, AFRICOM asserted that the strike had killed “one (1) terrorist”. The strike was carried out under authorities passed in
Summary
Incident date
September 5, 2017
LOCATION
Tortoroow and Dodale, Bay, SomaliaOn September 5th 2017, AFRICOM reported that it had conducted a precision airstrike in “central Somalia” against al-Shabaab militants that same day at approximately 9:50am local Somalia time. The release made no mention of civilian harm. However, AFRICOM asserted that the strike had killed “three (3) terrorists”. The action, it said, had hit in the
Summary
Incident date
August 31, 2017
LOCATION
حرمك, Kunya Barrow near Barawe, Middle Juba, SomaliaThe US said it carried out a strike near Barawe in southern Somalia on August 31st, killing one al Shabaab fighter and wounding one other. AP reported that “At least one missile struck a location outside Barawe that the extremists often use to launch attacks on the government-held town, a Somali intelligence official said. He
Summary
Incident date
August 25, 2017
LOCATION
Bariire, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaThe US military and the Somali government announced they were investigating reports that ten civilians, including three children, were killed during an operation on a farm in Bariire, in Somalia’s southern Lower Shabelle region. However, on November 28th 2017, the US published a press release concluding that only “armed enemy combatants” were killed. Earlier that
Summary
Incident date
August 16, 2017
LOCATION
Sheikh Ahmed Yare, 15 miles from Jilib, Middle Juba, SomaliaSeven civilians from the same family including a wife and husband died in US airstrikes which reportedly hit civilian homes near Jilib, according to two reports. The victims are named below. The US announced it carried out a series of attacks between August 16th and 17th, allegedly killing up to seven al Shabaab fighters. However
Summary
Incident date
August 10, 2017
LOCATION
Banaadir, SomaliaThe US carried out two “kinetic” strikes against al Shabaab members in the Banadir region of southern Somalia on August 10th, US Africa Command announced. There were no known associated public reports of civilian harm. As AFRICOM itself has treated these as distinct events, we have separated them here. A press release from the Somali
Summary
Incident date
August 10, 2017
LOCATION
Shashweyne, Banaadir, SomaliaAccording to a Freedom of Information request obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, this previously unknown US strike took place in the vicinity of Shashweyne, Bandir region, Somalia against al-Shabaab fighters. In its FOIA response, AFRICOM again confirmed it had targeted what it says were “AS fighters”, in the vicinity of Shashweyne, Banadir
Summary
Incident date
July 30, 2017
LOCATION
Tortoroow, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaUS Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed a US strike killed Ali Muhammad Hussein, believed to be a high-level al Shabaab commander. No civilians were reported to have been killed or injured in the strike. The strike took place in Tortoroow in southern Somalia at around 1500 local time on July 30th, reportedly killing Jabal alone. Africom
Summary
Incident date
July 29, 2017
LOCATION
Tortoroow, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaOn November 17th, US Africa Command sent the Bureau of Investigative Journalism a list of previously unreported actions, which included this strike. An AFRICOM spokesperson explained that their goal “is to be as transparent as possible while taking into account operational security, force protection and diplomatic sensitivities.” It therefore did not proactively release information about
Summary
Incident date
July 28, 2017
LOCATION
Southern Somalia, Bay, SomaliaOn November 17th 2017, US Africa Command sent the Bureau of Investigative Journalism a list of previously unreported strikes, which included this one. No casualties were reported. An AFRICOM spokesperson explained that their goal “is to be as transparent as possible while taking into account operational security, force protection and diplomatic sensitivities.” It therefore did
Summary
Incident date
July 23, 2017
LOCATION
Galcayo, Mudug, SomaliaA suspected al Shabaab associate who once lived in the US was arrested during a mission in Somalia, a US Africa Command spokesperson told AP. It was a Somali-led mission with “limited tactical advisory support” from the US, spokesperson Jennifer Dyrcz said. The suspect, identified as Abdirizak Tahlil, was accused of “facilitating the use of improvised
Summary
Incident date
July 21, 2017
LOCATION
Tortoroow, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaOn November 17th, US Africa Command sent the Bureau of Investigative Journalism a list of previously unreported strikes, which included this one. No casualties were reported. An AFRICOM spokesperson explained that their goal “is to be as transparent as possible while taking into account operational security, force protection and diplomatic sensitivities.” It therefore did not
Summary
Incident date
July 20, 2017
LOCATION
Gaduud, Lower Juba, SomaliaOn November 17th 2017, US Africa Command sent the Bureau of Investigative Journalism a list of previously unreported strikes, which included this one. An AFRICOM spokesperson explained that their goal “is to be as transparent as possible while taking into account operational security, force protection and diplomatic sensitivities.” It therefore did not proactively release information
Summary
Incident date
July 15, 2017
LOCATION
Sunguuni, Lower Juba, SomaliaOn November 17th 2017, US Africa Command sent the Bureau of Investigative Journalism a list of previously unreported strikes, which included this one. An AFRICOM spokesperson explained that their goal “is to be as transparent as possible while taking into account operational security, force protection and diplomatic sensitivities.” It therefore did not proactively release information
Summary
Incident date
July 13, 2017
LOCATION
حرمك, Kunya Barrow, Middle Juba, SomaliaUS and Somali special forces carried out a night raid on an al Shabaab-held village in southern Somalia, the district commissioner and a senior Somali intelligence official told reporters. It was the second US operation in the village in two weeks. “Several al-Shabaab fighters” are thought to have been killed according to NBC. Two helicopters
Summary
Incident date
July 5, 2017
LOCATION
Luglaaw, Lower Juba, SomaliaUS forces were involved in a “self-defence strike operation” with Somali National Army (SNA) forces “against an al Shabaab troop concentration” in the country’s south, according to an Africa Command (AFRICOM) press release. The statement did not include a casualty count, saying it “will continue to assess the results of the operation, and will provide
Summary
Incident date
July 2, 2017
LOCATION
حرمك, Kunya Barrow, Middle Juba, SomaliaA US airstrike in the Lower Shabelle region targeting al Shabaab insurgents killed one member of the terror group, according to AFRICOM. The victim may have been the leader of the group’s intelligence wing, Andullahi Haji Daud. There are currently no known associated reports of civilian harm. The strike hit in the south of the
Summary
Incident date
July 2, 2017
LOCATION
O'wdhiile, 55 miles south of Mogadishu, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaAn airstrike reportedly killed up to two civilians in O’wdhille, a village about 55 miles south of Mogadishu, according to findings from a field investigation by The Nation. Reporter Amanda Sperber detailed the account of Osman [not his real name] whose relatives were reportedly killed in the strike: “Around 5 pm in early July 2017, Osman
Summary
Incident date
June 11, 2017
LOCATION
Bohol Jawarey, Middle Juba, SomaliaA US strike on an al Shabaab “command and logistics node” killed eight members of the group, according to a US Africa Command press release. There were claims that Abdirahman Mohamed Warsame, a commander of the terror group’s intelligence wing was killed in the strike, though this was not confirmed by AFRICOM. No civilians were
Summary
Incident date
June 3, 2017
LOCATION
Welmarow, Lower Juba, SomaliaAFRICOM denied conducting any recent airstrikes in Somalia, a VOA journalist reported – following recent claims of US activities in the Lower Juba region. According to SomNews, US forces had conducted a helicopter assault on the village of Welmarow on the evening of June 3rd: “Helicopters thought to be from United States military have launched
Summary
Incident date
May 4, 2017
LOCATION
دار السلام, Andalus Radio, Darusalaam, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaIn the first confirmed US kinetic operation since President Trump designated Somalia an active war zone in March 2017, one US Navy serviceman was killed and two or three others injured during an operation against al Shabaab in Somalia on May 5th (local time), the first declared American service member death in combat in the
Summary
Incident date
April 14, 2017
LOCATION
Wargaduud and El Adde, Gedo, SomaliaChinese news agency Xinhua reported Somali security officials and residents as claiming that over 100 al Shabaab fighters, including 20 commanders, were killed in US air strikes on the morning of April 15th. The attack was denied by US Africa Command, which said the US military had not conducted the action. In an explicit statement
Summary
Incident date
February 24, 2017
LOCATION
Hawina, north of Kismayo, Lower Juba, SomaliaSomali news outlet Mareeg reported a suspected drone strike on an al Shabaab controlled village. Mareeg reported an eyewitness as saying: “We heard several bomb explosion caused by drone airstrikes in Hawina village.” He added: “It is not clear how many people have been killed or wounded it is very difficult to know the real
Summary
Incident date
January 7, 2017
LOCATION
Gaduud, Lower Juba, SomaliaIn the last declared Somalia strike of Barack Obama’s presidency, the US conducted a “self-defence strike” against al Shabaab on January 7th, according to a US Africa Command press release published on January 10th. The strike was conducted “in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, Somali partner forces, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)
Summary
Incident date
December 5, 2016
LOCATION
Omar Beere/Ibrahim Ali Berre camp near Tortoroow, Lower Shabelle, SomaliaTwo media organisations reported a possible US air operation targeting an al Shabaab base in the Lower Shabelle region. Dalsan Radio reported that Somali commandos backed by US Special Forces had attacked al Shabaab bases in Omar Berre in Lower Shabelle overnight using helicopters. It also quoted what it said was an eyewitness: “‘We heard several