Library image of an armed Reaper drone, December 2019 (US Air Force/ Senior Sergeant Haley Stevens)
A high-ranking Al Shabaab operative was allegedly killed by a possible US drone strike in Sablale. Mareeg reported: “A suspected US drone has carried out two airstrikes targeting high-ranking al Shabaab operatives in southern regions of Somalia. […] The 2nd strike also killed a high-ranking al Shabaab operative identified as Ahmed Nour near Sablale town
Clashes between Somali government forces, Al-Shabaab forces, and unknown airstrikes resulted in the reported deaths of up to 47 government soldiers and the injury of 11 other government soldiers, as well as the claimed death of 77 Al-Shabaab fighters in Bariire on April 3, 2021. Hussein Mohamed, a journalist for the New York Times in
A civilian was injured by alleged Kenyan or United Arab Emirates or US airstrike on Saakow in Middle Jubba on June 16/17, 2023. Horn Observer reported that a civilian was injured by airstrikes in Saakow, possibly carried out by Kenya, the United Arab Emirates, or the US. Hormuud, Somalia’s largest telecom provider, also announced that
Multiple ISIS militants were killed by an alleged joint operation carried out by Puntland forces and the US military in the Cal Miskaad mountains on December 31, 2024. Shafaq News reported that “the Puntland Security Force (PSF), together with the US Air Force, carried out a joint operation on Tuesday targeting ISIS positions in the
A US drone strike reportedly killed Abu Ubaidah, leader of al Shabaab, as well as four other fighters. The US told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: “We are aware of the media reports but have no information on the incident.” However two named Somali officials asserted that it was a drone attack. Ubaidah replaced Ahmed Abdi
The 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
AFRICOM said that it had carried out a strike on “al Shabaab fighters in the vicinity of Kamsuuma” on March 12th. It made no mention of civilian harm. The US had already carried out ten strikes since the start of the year, a US Africa Command spokesperson confirmed to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ)
AFRICOM reported on the same day that it had carried out an airstrike targeting al Shabaab in the vicinity of Dheerow Sanle in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia. According to AFRICOM “no civilians were injured or killed in this airstrike.” The strike “killed six (6) militants and destroyed one vehicle.” In a subsequent FOIA response
The US military carried out an airstrike targeting ISIS-Somalia and possibly also al Shabaab in the vicinity of Timirshe, in the Golis Mountains. According to a press release from US Africa Command issued the following day, three fighters from the terrorist group were killed, with AFRICOM currently assessing that no civilians had been harmed in
The US conducted its first known strike against so-called Islamic State in Somalia. CNN reported that both strikes were carried out by armed drone. According to Associated Press, “A US official said the strikes were carried out in northeastern Somalia, with the first around midnight local time and the second later in the morning. The
Local sources alleged that a night time airstrike by an unknown party had targeted al Shabaab at Buusaar in Gedo. According to Ilwared, “Reports reaching us from Gedo region in southern Somalia say that military planes carried out airstrikes last night as residents told Radio Kulmiye. The planes were reportedly targeting Al-Shabaab bases in Buusar, Gedo
During several days of fighting in Middle Juba, US forces conducted an airstrike on January 26th which targeted “an al-Shabaab compound in the vicinity of Jamaame,” according to US Africa Command officials. AFRICOM initially reported the event on February 3rd in a press release though offered no precise date, noting that “In coordination with the Federal
Five Al Shabaab members were reportedly killed by a US strike near Bush Madina. The AFRICOM press release said: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab terrorists in the vicinity of Bush Madina, Somalia, April 3. The command’s initial assessment concluded this airstrike killed five (5)
Two US airstrikes reportedly killed between eight and ten Al Shabaab fighters near Jilib. Garowe reported: “Amid plans to withdraw from Somalia, the US Africa Command conducted two airstrikes on Thursday in the Horn of Africa nation, killing at least eight Al-Shabaab commanders linked to the manufacturing of explosives besides coordinating attacks in the country.”
At least two al-Shabaab militants were killed by a declared US airstrike near Buulobarde, Somalia on October 23, 2022. AFRICOM released a statement that “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab terrorists who were attacking Somali National Army forces near Buulobarde, Somalia, about 218 km north-northwest
Scores of militants were killed by alleged US drone strikes near Forward Operation Base in #Awdhegle district on September 10, 2023. A tweet from @HornSentinel reported that US drones carried out two strikes against al-Shabaab fighter who had stormed the Somali National Army (SNA) Forward Operation Base in #Awdhegle district, resulting in the death of
code: USSOM467
incident_date: 2025-03-29
status: publish
civilian_harm_status:
At least one al Shabaab militant was reportedly killed as Shabaab positions in Kismayo, Jubaland, were subject to aerial shelling, international and local media reported. There was disagreement about whether the US, France or Kenya were to blame A local resident told Reuters: “A jet bombarded an al Shabaab base near the port. It dropped
The US conducted “a self-defence strike against al Shabaab, killing three” in southern Somalia, describing the action as having “provided defensive fires to protect U.S. troops from imminent threats posed by the terrorist group al-Shabaab.” A statement from US Africa Command (Africom) issued at the time said “the operation was conducted after it was assessed
AFRICOM 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
On June 4th 2018, AFRICOM reported that it had “conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants approximately 26 miles southwest of Bosasso, Somalia, on June 2”. It added: “We currently assess no civilians were injured or killed in this airstrike.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the airstrike killed “twenty-seven (27) terrorists.” As Voice of America noted, “Saturday’s airstrike
US forces carried out a ‘self-defence strike’ against al Shabaab on September 21st approximately 50 km northwest of Kismayo and killing 18 al Shabaab members, according to a press release from US Africa Command. According to AFRICOM “The U.S. airstrike was conducted against militants after U.S. and partner forces came under attack. We currently assess
US Africa Command reported that the previous day, it had carried an airstrike in the vicinity of Kobon, near the city of Kismayo. AFRICOM added that “at this time, it was assessed no civilians were injured or killed in either airstrike.” AFRICOM did not specify the number of belligerents killed, although AP reported that eight
The US military carried out an airstrike targeting ISIS-Somalia in the Golis Mountains, according to a press release the following day by US Africa Command. According to AFRICOM, the strike killed six ISIS-Somalia fighters, and was currently assessed as having caused no civilian harm. “The Golis Mountains are a known area for terrorist camps and
The US military carried out an airstrike on al Shabaab fighters – possibly high value – after they attacked a Somali patrol in the northwest of Kismayo, Lower Juba Province, according to a press release from US Africa Command. No civilian harm was reported in this incident. According to the official statement: “In coordination with
A senior al Shabaab communications official was reported killed, either in an air or ground operation. The official was named by all sources as Ibrahim Abu Hamza, reportedly a head of communications for the terror group. However there was conflicted reporting about both how he died – and at whose hands. According to Mareeg News,
Two airstrikes were declared the same day by US Africa Command, in partnership with the Somali government, which were said to have targeted al Shabaab in the vicinity of Kunya Barrow. According to two pro Shabaab sources, at least one of the strikes targeted Kunya Barrow itself – alleging that a 70 year old woman
Between one or two civilians were allegedly injured in US or Kenyan airstrike on Araboow. Halgan Media reported: “A series of blasts rocked a rural town of Araboow overnight in Somalia’s Middle Jubba province. The blasts said to be a result of a barrage of missiles fired down on the Militant controlled town. Sources that
According to Somali official and media sources, an airstrike targeted a group of al Shabaab fighters in the vicinity of Ma’moodow town in Bakool province on January 29th. According to an official statement from the Security Ministry of South West State, the attack was conducted by “friends of Somalia.” Following requests for clarification, AFRICOM publicly
Four al-Shabaab militants were killed by declared AFRICOM strikes near Xaradheere on January 25, 2023. AFRICOM released a statement on January 30th 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. 25, 2023. The strike