Library image of an armed Reaper drone, December 2019 (US Air Force/ Senior Sergeant Haley Stevens)
US Africa Command initially reported that it had carried out two airstrikes in the vicinity of Janaale in the lower Shabelle region. AFRICOM stated that “the first airstrike on February 11 had killed eight militants and the second airstrike killed four militants” with a total of 12 killed. AFRICOM added that “at this time, it
An 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
A father and young child were reported killed in a US airstrike on the al Shabaab-occupied town of Kunyo Barrow. AFRICOM later admitted the deaths of two civilians along with three injuries in the event in its first quarterly civilian harm report of April 2020. US Africa Command first reported on February 24th 2019 that
In the first known lethal drone strike in Somalia, Predators struck a militant training camp 10km south of Kismayo. Further missiles reportedly hit a second target near the airport. At least one member of Al-Shabaab was killed – possibly “many” – and up to three were wounded, according to local and international media. There were
The Pentagon announced four airstrikes on February 23rd in a press release issued by US Africa Command. One of these airstrikes occurred in Awdeegle, 50 kilometres west of Mogadishu. The press release read: “These four airstrikes eliminated checkpoints and facilities used by al-Shabaab to collect illegal taxes to fund terrorist activities and to oppress the innocent
A US drone strike on September 28th killed at least ten members of a local friendly militia and not al Shabaab militants as the US had initially believed, according to local communities and an investigation by the Washington Post. Between three and 16 additional members of the Galmadug militia were injured. At least one source,
A US airstrike targeted alleged al Shabaab militants in the vicinity of Dacaraha village, 50 km west of Mogadishu, a local source reported. Publicly AFRICOM said it had conducted two strikes near Kunyo Barrow that day, with others at Janaale and Awdhegle. The other Kunyo barrow strike – which hit the town itself – reportedly
In this single-source allegation, an unknown number of people were reportedly killed or wounded in possible US strikes in Afmadow district, as reported by Somalia Report. The source did not mention whether the victims were combatants or civilians. According to Somalia Report, US drones or planes reportedly hit three al Shabaab militant training camps in
Up to six people, including at least one possible civilian, were killed and at least two possible civilians were wounded, as a US-launched raid targeted and reportedly killed a high value al Qaeda/ al Shabab member, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, international media reported. The attack marked the first known lethal operation by US forces in
One civilian man was possibly killed as a US drone struck and killed up to seven members of al-Shabaab at Kilometre 60 or K60, in Lower Shabelle, 60km south west of Mogadishu on the road to Marka/ Mercer, international media reported. The action came hours after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had told a
One civilian was reportedly killed and another injured in a confirmed US airstrike in Baladul Rahma near Basra, Somalia according to a field investigation by Amnesty International – though US Africa Command continues to deny that any civilians were harmed. In a press release from AFRICOM issued at the time, it had said it carried
A ground operation struck a minibus carrying civilians, killing one woman and injuring up to six others, local media reported. While one source claimed that the attack was conducted by drone, others said it was a ground operation, involving Somali and possibly also US troops. AFRICOM later denied responsibility for civilian harm on the grounds
“Multiple civilians” were alleged killed in a claimed US airstrike on Farsooley, according to reports which appeared to have originated with al Shabaab. AFRICOM publicly rejected the claim a year later. Hussein Mohamed, a local journalist stringing for the New York Times and others, tweeted on May 10th that “Al Shabab media reported that US
One elderly civilian, claimed by al Shabaab to be a tribal elder, was allegedly killed by a US airstrike in Kamsuuma. The US later pushed back heavily against the claim, insisting the victim was a terrorist. AFRICOM initially described the action – which it said killed one al Shabaab fighter – as a response to
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
Six alleged al-Shabaab members were killed by declared US airstrikes on the small town of Awdal 248 km northeast of Mogadishu near Cadale, Middle Shabelle, on December 23, 2022. AFRICOM released a statement the same day that “At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted a self-defense strike, Dec. 23, in
On the 17th of December, 2023, a declared U.S. airstrike reportedly killed an Al-Shabaab leader, Maalim Ayman, near Jilib in southern Somalia. On the same day as the airstrike, United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) released a statement on its website, stating that the airstrike had been conducted “in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia,
Air strikes ‘reportedly from international forces’ targeted ‘a mountainous area near town of Qandala’ according to Garowe Online. However All Africa said that “Air strikes reportedly from a US military aircraft or naval ship on the coastal town of Qandala caused damage to many buildings in the town.” All Africa and Garowe Online said it
In 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)
A US strike killed “several” al Shabaab fighters in the seventh aerial attack in Somalia in six days. Lower Shabelle’s deputy governor told Voice of America the strike had killed six al Shabaab fighters in the village of Idow Jalad. A statement from US Africa Command said the strike was carried out “in coordination with
AFRICOM reported that the previous day it had “conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab fighters in the vicinity of Gandarshe, Lower Shebelle Region, Somalia, on February 1, 2019.” It added that “at this time, it was assessed no civilians were injured or killed in this airstrike.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the strike had “killed 13 militants.” According
The US military carried out an airstrike targeting alleged ISIS-Somalia terrorists in the Golis Mountains, according to a press release issued by US Africa Command. The strike killed two fighters from ISIS-Somalia it was asserted, with AFRICOM currently assessing that no civilians had been harmed. “This is the fifth precision airstrike against ISIS-Somalia since April
In an alleged civilian harm event previously unrecorded by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a declassified AFRICOM report obtained in Spring 2019 identified a claimed event near Kismayo in October 2018. According to Casimada, “The strike against Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab group was conducted in Bulo-Haji area near the town, killing at least 3 children, a
Local reports – including by the former head of Somalia’s national intelligence service – said that a senior al Shabaab figure was killed in Salagle. According to Mareeg, “al-Shabaab’s chief of security, Sheikh Jafar Ali Mohamud, and a few other members were killed” in an event at Salagle. Other actions were reported at nearby Sakow
US Africa Command on the same date declared an airstrike in the vicinity of Janaale, which it said had killed four al Shabaab fighters. According to the AFRICOM press release: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab terrorists in vicinity of Janaale, Somalia, Mar. 9… The
Seven ISIS fighters were killed by a US airsrtrike near Timirshe, according to AFRICOM. The press release said: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike against ISIS-Somalia terrorists after they attacked partner forces in a remote location near Timirshe, Somalia, July 21. Timirshe is located 140 kilometers southeast
In its latest actions in support of Somali ground forces, AFRICOM confirmed that it had conducted airstrikes on al Shabaab positions “in the vicinity of Qeycad” on August 1st. Statements published by both the Somali Ministry of Information and Galmudug State referred to two separate strikes, which Airwars is therefore treating as separate events. According
13 al-Shabaab militants were killed during operations allegedly carried out by the Somali National Army Danab Special Forces with the aid of the US Africa Command and the Jubbaland State Forces in Turdho village of Lower Jubba on March 3, 2022. Garowe Online reported that an operation carried out by the Danab Special Forces with the
code: USSOM438
incident_date: 2024-07-15
status: publish
civilian_harm_status:
At least five US drone strikes hit in the space of three days killing an undisclosed number of people. They were reportedly carried out in support of African Union troops who were advancing on Baraawe, an al Shabaab stronghold since 2009. The strikes reportedly hit between the attack reported on July 15th and July 18th,