Library image of an armed Reaper drone, December 2019 (US Air Force/ Senior Sergeant Haley Stevens)
The US reported two days after the event that it had conducted two “self-defence strikes” on September 5th against al Shabaab, killing four militants in total. According to an AFRICOM press release, the strikes hit near Tortoroow and were conducted in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia after a Somali-led counter-terrorism operation came under
In an event not publicly disclosed at the time, US Africa Command conducted a strike in the vicinity of Jilib on February 3rd, which it later said “did not result in any terrorist deaths, injuries or damage to equipment and infrastructure. Nor did we assess any civilians were killed or injured.” The strike came to
One senior Al Shabaab member was allegedly killed by US airstrike on Saakow. AFRICOM said in its press release: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting an al-Shabaab senior leader in the vicinity of Saakow, Somalia, on Aug. 25. The command’s initial assessment concluded this airstrike killed
An unknown number of casualties among militants resulted from alleged Somalia forces with the assistance of US airstrikes/drone strikes on October 7, 2021. Harun Maruf a journalist with Voice of America reported that the Somali military in collaboration with international security partners carried out airstrikes on four militant camps, destroying them. At the time there
Between 10 and 40 militants were killed by declared US airstrikes near Afmadow in Lower Juba on July 8, 2023. AFRICOM announced on July 9, 2023 that “At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted three collective self-defense airstrikes overnight in a remote area near Afmadow, approximately 105 kilometers north
Four civilians, two women and two children, were killed and at least one other, a child, and up to six others were injured by an alleged US drone/air strike in the Sixna area of the Qandala district of Puntland on 28 January, 2025. Those killed were from the Reer Yusuf Mohamud Salah family; amongst them
A British al Shabaab fighter, Bilal al-Berjawi, was killed by a US drone strike in or near the town of Elasha Biyaha, 15km south of Mogadishu, local and international media reported. There were no reports of civilian harm. Three missiles fired from a drone operated by JSOC killed British-Lebanese militant Bilal al-Berjawi, also known as
The US reported two days after the event that it had conducted two “self-defence strikes” on September 5th against al Shabaab, killing four militants. According to an AFRICOM press release, the strikes hit near Tortoroow and were conducted in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia after a Somali-led counter-terrorism operation came under attack. Garowe
US forces carried out a strike against al Shabaab at approximately 1630 local time on November 11, US Africa Command said. It made no mention of civilian harm. However, AFRICOM stated that the strike killed a single fighter, and that it took place near Gaduud, located 250 miles southwest of the capital, Mogadishu. This and
An American Special Forces soldier was killed – later named as Staff Sergeant Alexander Conrad – and four others were wounded in an attack by al Shabaab fighters in Jubaland. A member of a partner force was also killed or injured. The US soldiers were among a large force of 800 Somali and Kenyan soldiers
US Africa Command reported that the previous day, it had conducted “one (1) airstrike targeting an al-Shabaab encampment in the vicinity of Yaaq Braawe, Bay Region, Somalia, on January 8, 2019.” It added: “At this time we assess no civilians were injured or killed in this airstrike.” AFRICOM also stated that the airstrike “killed six
The Somali military said that double US strikes near Jilib town killed 16 al Qaeda and al Shabaab fighters, according to Radio Risaala. US Africa Command did not however publish a press release for this event – though it did report a strike on the same date near Tortoroow. Quoting an anonymous military official, Risaala
According to a Freedom of Information response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, this previously unknown confirmed US strike took place in the vicinity of Saakow, Somalia against an unspecified “al-Shabaab Named Objective”. This incident was not previously publicly known. No further details are currently available.
According to a local source, heavy fighting near the port of Bari in Puntland killed two people and injured five others, including civilians. AFRICOM later declared that “no U.S. military strike took place on the alleged date or location.” Radio Shabelle initially said that an airstrike by an unknown party had contributed to the violence
US Africa Command reported an airstrike in the vicinity of Beer Xaani on February 4th which it said had killed one terrorist. The attack came a day after Somali troops in the town had come under attack from al Shabaab. According to AFRICOM’s release: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command
One Al Shabaab member was allegedly killed by an alleged US airstrike on Salagle. Somaliweyn reported: “The shelling occurred in Jilib, Sakow, Bu’ale, and Salagle districts of the Juba regions, with the shelling targeting al-Shabaab bases in those districts.” It added: “The Salagle area has reportedly targeted a senior al-Shabaab security official whose name has
A US airstrike targeted Al Shabaab fighters near Saakow. The AFRICOM press release said: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted one (1) airstrike targeting an al-Shabaab compound in the vicinity of Saakow, Somalia, Dec. 24. The initial assessment concluded the strike damaged the compound and several al-Shabaab fighters fled,
At least 17 militants were killed by US AFRICOM declared airstrikes approximately 285 kilometers northeast, possibly in Basra, Balad district and/or in Ceel Gorof (Galmudug) on November 9, 2022. AFRICOM released a statement two days after the incident, November 11th, that “Somali National Army forces were engaged with al Shabaab fighters in a remote area
The militant organization Al-Shabaab claimed that U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) had conducted an airstrike against the terrorist network on 22nd of September, 2023. The group alleged that the airstrike, carried out in the Wajid district of Bakool in southwestern Somalia, had reportedly killed eight civilians, including six children. However, the Somalia government declared their responsibility
On December 28th 2017, AFRICOM reported that it had “conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab militants in the early evening hours of Dec. 27, 2017, approximately 25 kilometres west of the capital”. It added that “we assess no civilians were killed in this strike”. However, AFRICOM claimed that the strike had “killed four terrorists”, adding that
One woman and several children were wounded by an alleged US drone strike in El Adde town, Gedo, as up to ten al Shabaab members were targeted and killed, local media reported. Somali media site Mareeg reported that a US drone strike had injured women and children. Anonymous sources said the victims had been been
The US military carried out two separate airstrikes targeting al Shabaab in the vicinity of Jilib, according to a press release from US Africa Command. According to AFRICOM, “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted two airstrikes targeting al-Shabaab militants in the vicinity of Jilib, Somalia, on June 16, 2019… At
The US military declared an airstrike near Qunyo Barrow that killed one al Shabaab fighter, according to a press release from US Africa Command. The attack took place on the same date that AFRICOM had carried out a retaliatory airstrike following a complex al Shabaab attack on Baledogle airfield. The press release noted: “In coordination
The US military reported on the same day that it had carried out an airstrike near Qunyo Barrow that killed one “terrorist.” However al Shabaab insisted the victim was a local civilian businessman named Ismail Issa Bhutan. AFRICOM later insisted the target “was both an al-Shabaab leader and weapons supplier.” According to a press release
Both US Africa Command and the Somali government declared on the same day two airstrikes in the vicinity of Kunya Barrow. There were no known local claims of associated civilian harm. According to the AFRICOM press release, “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted two (2) airstrikes targeting al-Shabaab terrorists
Several Al Shabaab members were allegedly killed by a US airstrike on Jamaame. The Horn Observer said: “Two mid level al-Shabaab officials are among several killed after a suspected U.S airstrikes targeted the group’s strongholds in Jamame and in Haway in the country’s southern regions of Lower Jubba and Lower Shabelle on Monday. According to
Several Al Shabaab militants were reported killed at Salagle in a military strike which two local sources claimed was a US drone action. However AFRICOM explicitly denied this in an email to Airwars, insisting that “U.S. Africa Command’s last airstrike in Somalia was conducted Jan. 19, 2021.” Intelligence Briefs said: “A number of Al-Shabaab operatives
Between 12 and 117 alleged al-Shabaab militants were killed by declared AFRICOM airstrikes and/or Somali National Army operations in Donlaye, near Amara town, on February 10, 2023. AFRICOM released a statement on February 12th that “At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia and in support of Somali National Army engagements against al-Shabaab, U.S. Africa
Two al-Shabaab militants were reportedly killed by declared US airstrikes approximately 45 km northeast of Kismayo in Somalia on March 2, 2024. US Africa Command (USAFRICOM) released a statement on March 4th declaring their involvement: “At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted a collective self-defense against the al Shabaab
A US drone strike targeted a vehicle carrying three al Shabaab figures in southern Somalia. The attack hit in the early evening and killed a senior al Shabaab leader, Hassan Ali Dhoore, according to the Pentagon. There were additional reports that two other militants were killed alongside Hassan Ali Dhoore. There are currently no reports