Library image of an armed Reaper drone, December 2019 (US Air Force/ Senior Sergeant Haley Stevens)
Six Al Shabaab members were allegedly killed and three more injured by a US strike in combination with a US/Somali ground operation near Darusalaam. Local sources claimed US soldiers had been injured which AFRICOM denied. A report from Halgan Media said: “US trained Somali paramilitary forces, commonly referred to as “Danab” carried out counter terrorism
The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) declared an airstrike in a remote location near Beer Xaani, in the vicinity of Yaaq-Zaluul, in Somalia on June 3rd 2022. They declared that five Al-Shabaab militants were killed in this attack but that no civilians were injured or killed. In local reports, this was repeated and there were no
Kenyans.co.ke reported that a joint operation by US Commandos, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and the Security Forces in Jubaland resulted in the death of 17 al-Shabaab militants in Weelmarow Village in Lower Juba. The source added that the majority of the al-Shabaab militants were Kenyan and Ethiopian natives. No other sources reported on the incident.
code: USSOM456
incident_date: 2025-02-12
status: publish
civilian_harm_status:
The US reported in a press release published on September 27th that it had conducted a “self-defence strike” in Caba near Kismayo the previous day, killing four al Shabaab fighters . The press release said that a group of armed al Shabaab fighters attacked the Somali force and their US advisors. The Somali forces returned
An airstrike near the village of Jawaari was variously blamed on US and Kenyan forces. Mareeg, a Somali news outlet, reported a strike by unidentified jets which it said had potentially killed eight members of al Shabaab. The terror group itself reportedly denied that any of its fighters were killed. The source of Mareeg’s information
Up to 73 al Shabaab fighters were killed in a confirmed retaliatory strike conducted by US Africa Command. On the same day as the attack, AFRICOM reported that it had “conducted an airstrike targeting militants near Jilib, Middle Juba Region, Somalia, on January 19, 2019.” The airstrike was apparently conducted after a large contingent of
The US military carried out an airstrike targeting an ISIS-Somalia encampment in the Golis Mountains, according to a press release from AFRICOM. The strike killed 13 fighters from ISIS-Somalia, in what was the third recent declared strike against ISIS. AFRICOM said it currently assessed that no civilians were harmed. The statement further noted: “We are supporting
The United States reported conducting an airstrike against al Shabaab in the vicinity of Qunyo Barrow on August 20th, which it asserted had “killed one (1) terrorist.” According to a press release issued on the same day, “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting an al-Shabaab terrorist
A reported US drone strike killed al Shabaab’s head of domestic intelligence in a night time action near Kunyo Barrow. While the action was apparently confirmed by Somali military radio, AFRICOM did not declare a strike on this date – indicating a possible CIA action. Voice of America reporter Harun Maruf first mentioned the strike
An Al Shabaab facility was hit by a US airstrike near Jilib, according to AFRICOM. The press statement, released two days later, asserted: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted two (2) airstrikes targeting al-Shabaab terrorists and a compound in the vicinity of Jilib, Somalia, Feb. 6… Initial assessments conclude
Eight Al Shabaab militants were allegedly killed by three US strikes near Mubaraak. The AFRICOM press release said: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted three (3) airstrikes targeting al-Shabaab terrorists in the vicinity of Mubaraak, Somalia, Apr. 5. The command’s initial assessment concluded these airstrikes killed eight (8) terrorists.
Two civilians were initially reported wounded in two US airstrikes on Kunya Barrow, local reports claimed. AFRICOM later confirmed that three civilians were in fact injured in the attack. Radio Al Furqaan, the Al Shabaab-affiliated radio station bombed in the incident, said at the time: “On Friday afternoon, January 1, 2021, US warplanes bombed the
Over 49 al-Shabaab militants were reportedly killed and others were wounded by Somali forces and “international partner” airstrikes/ground operations in the Bulo Madina area of Lower Shabelle on November 22, 2022. Garrote Online reported that according to the Ministry of Information, over 49 militants were killed by an airstrike following an operation by the Somali
Local and official sources alleged that 27 al-Shabaab militants were killed by operations and airstrikes declared by the Somali military in the villages of Balal-Dheer, El-Gambar, and Mililiqo on September 22, 2023. On Friday the 22nd of September, 2023, the Somali Ministry of Defense posted a statement on X / Twitter that “over 27 Khawarij
A single news source reported that “unidentified armed drones” targeted two alleged al Shabaab camps. Witnesses said the attacks hit camps in the towns of Torato and Ambereso. The regional governor Abdikadir Mohamed Nur confirmed the strikes but said the death toll had not been confirmed, although the terror group had sustained “human and material
US 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
AFRICOM reported that the previous day it had “conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab militants in the early morning hours of Jan. 2, 2018, approximately 50 kilometers west of the capital [Mogadishu]”. It added: “We assess no civilians were killed in this strike.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the airstrike killed “two terrorists” and destroyed “one vehicle-borne improvised
AFRICOM reported that the day previously it had “conducted an airstrike targeting an al-Shabaab militant in the vicinity of Kunyo Barrow, Somalia, on October 6, 2018.” It added: “We currently assess no civilians were injured or killed in this airstrike.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the action killed “(1) terrorist”. In a subsequent FOIA response obtained
The US military declared carrying out an airstrike targeting al Shabaab militants in Jilib, according to a press release issued on the same day by US Africa Command. According to the statement, “At this time, it is assessed the airstrike killed one (1) militant. Currently, we assess no civilians were injured or killed as a result
In an incident not originally declared publicly, AFRICOM officials later confirmed to Airwars that they had conducted a strike against al Shabaab in the lower Shabelle – for which they did not report either any militant or any civilian harm. Public Affairs Current Operations Branch Chief, Desiree Frame, told Airwars by email dated October 4th
The US military reported on the same day that it had carried out an airstrike in the vicinity of Jilib against al Shabaab fighters. It was not clear which of two locally reported targets – or indeed both – were struck. Unusually, AFRICOM made no mention of the number of militant fighters it believed had
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
One Al Shabaab member was allegedly killed in a US strike on Haway. The Horn Observer wrote: “A separate airstrike in Haway neighbourhood in Lower Shabelle region targeted another camp where the militant had gathered on Monday. Local sources and Mogadishu-based intel officers have told Horn Observer that Mustaf Ato, the special adviser of al-Shabaab’s
A single source alleged a US drone strike on Hantidawaag which AFRICOM later denied. Halgan Media wrote: “US drones just bombed the village of Hantiwadaag in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle province and struck a vehicle carrying a group of Al Shabaab fighters – Sources.” AFRICOM responded to a request from Airwars: “U.S. Africa Command’s last strikes
Between five and 70 alleged al-Shabaab militants were killed by declared US airstrikes and/or Somali government ground actions near Bacadweyne in the Mudug of central Galmudug state on February 15, 2023. AFRICOM released a statement on February 16th that “At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia and in support of Somali National Army
Halbeeg News reported that at least six al-Shabaab fighters were killed in a suspected US airstrike which destroyed technical vehicles as well as an arsenal on the border between Lower Shabelle and Middle Jubba regions in southern Somalia on March 7, 2024. According to Halqabsi News, six al-Shabaab bases were struck and killed several high-ranking
In a news feature looking at drone strikes in Somalia, Somalia Report stated that on this day, “another [US] attack occurred in Taabta village in the Afmadow District of Lower Juba.” The report indicated that the target was al Shabaab. “AFRICOM does have terrorism in its list of applications and as of June JSOC’s hunter killers
At least four and up to 23 al Shabaab fighters were reported killed in a US airstrike at Buufow, near Janaaale. However more than three years later, one civilian fatality was also alleged. Two US actions on April 1st and April 2nd were later said to be “self-defence air strikes against al Shabaab fighters who
On 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