Library image of an armed Reaper drone, December 2019 (US Air Force/ Senior Sergeant Haley Stevens)
Two civilian were reported killed by US ground troops near Shanta Baraako in an apparent distortion of an In These Times investigation. AFRICOM later discounted the allegation. The In These Times report alleged that Waliyo Cali Qaasim and Abdikadir Ali were killed by Danab special forces in a counter-terrorism operation. In a post in the
A US airstrike targeted an Al Shabaab compound in Tiyeeglow, according to AFRICOM. The press release said: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command forces conducted one airstrike in the vicinity of Tiyeeglow, Somalia, Jan. 18, 2021. Initial assessments indicate the strike destroyed one al-Shabaab compound. The command’s initial assessment is
AFRICOM declared that they had carried out an airstrike or drone strike that killed between 30 and 100 alleged militants approximately 260 km northeast of Mogadishu near Galcad, Somalia on January 20, 2023. There are no known reports of civilian harm. US AFRICOM announced that “at the request of the Federal Government of Somalia and in
On January 21st, 2024, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) conducted a drone strike against the Al-Shabaab militant group 35 kilometers northeast of the city of Kismayo in the Lower Juba region of Somalia, reportedly killing three militants. To date, there have been no reports of civilian casualties in connection to the strike. Two days later, on
The destroyer USS Chafee, sailing off the coast of Somalia, fired ‘more than a dozen rounds from its 5-inch gun’ on militants in Bargal, north Somalia. The New York Times also reported that cruise missiles were fired. Somali government spokesmen claimed the strikes were launched after around 35 heavily armed militants landed on the coast near
Unidentified jets reportedly bombed three villages – Yasooman, Ceeldheer and Ceel Lahelay in the central Hiiraan region – all described as being under al Shabaab control. There were no reported casualties. According to All Africa: “An official says unidentified military jets bombed Al shabaab bases in the Somali region of Hiiraan on Sunday, the latest
On 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
On November 20th 2019, AFRICOM reported that it had “conducted two (2) airstrikes in the vicinity of Debatscile, Somalia targeting al-Shabaab militants on November 19, 2018”. These are recorded as separate events, with the other that day near Quy Cad. AFRICOM asserted: “We currently assess these airstrikes did not injure or kill any civilians.” It
A possible US or Kenyan airstrike at Buusaar or Waraha-Kakuma left “scores” of al Shabaab fighters dead, according to local media sources. A regional official who asked Mareeg to remain anonymous, told the local news organisation that the strike had destroyed al Shabaab’s base in ‘Buzer, west Somalia.’ The report did not note how many
Up to 16 al Shabaab fighters died in an operation reportedly carried out by Somali forces with US support, multiple sources said. The US claimed at the time that at the time that Somali forces alone were responsible for the kinetic actions. However, a FOIA response obtained in 2019 confirmed that the US had in
According to a single source, an airstrike by an unknown party hit the strategic village of Basra in Middle Shebelle. Goobjoog News stated that “Reports indicate that Airstrikes hit last night at Basra village in the Middle Shabelle Somalia. Residents of Basra village told Goobjoog News there were heavy attacks in the village amid reports
In retaliatory strikes against al Al Shabaab for a mass casualty bombing in Mogadishu a day earlier, the United States said that it had conducted three strikes against al Shbaab commanders, killing four people in total. This entry relates to one of two strikes in the vicinity of Kunyo Barrow in Lower Shabelle. According to
A US airstrike targeted Al Shabaab in Saakow, according to local reporting. Radio Kulmiye said: “Suspected US airstrikes targeted to Al-shabaab compounds in southern Somalia. The attacks destroyed vehicles, camps and killed militants. According to Somali intelligence officials, the airstrikes carried by unidentified military planes targeted Jilib, Sakow and Bu’ale towns of Middle Jubba region,
An unspecified number was allegedly killed by a US strike on Janay Abdalle, which AFRICOM later discounted. In first quarterly civilian casualty assessment it says: “February 3, 2019, AFRICOM received one allegation from an online media source claiming an unspecified number of civilians were killed from an airstrike in the vicinity of Janay Abdalle, Somalia,
The brief recapture by al Shabaab of the strategic town of Amara on the morning of August 24th was reversed by Somali ground forces, assisted by a US airstrike. Up to 90 militants and five government soldiers were killed in the strike, according to the Somali government and state media. Amara had been held by
Three al-Shabaab fighters were allegedly killed by declared US airstrikes in the vicinity of Wayanta, Somalia on June 1. There have been no reports of civilian harm at this time. AFRICOM released a statement that “at the request of the Federal Government of Somalia and in support of the Somali National Army engagements against al
The United States announced an airstrike against Al-Shabaab militants in the Lower Shabelle region on 24 December, 2024. The strike, which took place approximately 10 km southwest of Quyno Barrow, reportedly killed two Al-Shabaab members, including a lead commander, Mohamed Mire. AFRICOM released a statement on December 26th announcing that “In coordination with the Federal
A statement from the Pentagon said an airstrike in south-central Somalia had targeted Abdullahi Haji Daud – but initially did not confirm whether Daud had been killed. However on June 8th, Africom announced a “final assessment” which concluded “Daud was struck and killed in the airstrike”. There are currently no reports of civilian harm. It
AFRICOM reported on the same day that it had “conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab militants approximately 30 miles southwest of Mogadishu, Somalia, on May 31”. It added: “We currently assess no civilians were injured or killed in this airstrike.” However, AFRICOM claimed that the airstrike killed “twelve (12) terrorists”. In a subsequent FOIA response obtained by
A total of 11 al Shabaab militants were killed as US forces conducted two airstrikes in the vicinity of Beled Amin South on December 19th, a US Africa Command press release claimed. According to AFRICOM, no civilians were harmed. The first strike referenced here killed eight militants and the second strike killed three militants, the
The US military carried out an airstrike against ISIS-Somalia in the vicinity of Xiriiro, Bari Region, killing one high value militant and at least one other alleged fighter. According to AFRICOM – which took the unusual step of publicly naming the target within 24 hours of the operation – the strike killed Abdulhakim Dhuqub, second
AFRICOM publicly reported four strikes on the same area on the same day – asserting that it had killed 34 al Shabaab militants in total in the vicinity of Gandarshe. Another two strikes took place on December 16th, it said – killing another 28 militants. “All six airstrikes were conducted in close coordination with the
According to local sources, an airstrike by an unknown party targeted a ‘foreign al Shabaab commander’ close to midnight on May 8th 2019. According to Horn Globe, “United States military has carried out at least two air strikes targeting al-Shabaab militant group’s bases in Jilib and Jamame town on Wednesday night, locals sources said. The first
US Africa Command declared on the same day that it had conducted an airstrike on al Shabaab in the vicinity of Jilib, which it said had killed one militant. It was later claimed that a 20-year old farmer named Mohamed Moalim was killed in the strike, with the location given as Hoombooy – although in
Two civilians were killed in a US strike near Buulo Fuulay, according to a pro Al Shabaab outlet. Somali Memo wrote: “More details about the bombings of US warplanes hit the Bay region in southern Somalia on Wednesday night. Drones bombed a scooter with two civilians Saturday night, the killed were forced out of Buhodle
A US airstrike targeted an Al Shabaab member in Jilib, AFRICOM confirmed via email to Airwars. The response reads: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted one airstrike in Jilib, Somalia on Oct. 18 targeting one al-Shabaab terrorist. The command’s initial assessment concluded this airstrike yielded no death or injuries
One high ranking al-Shabaab leader was killed by declared US and Somali airstrikes near Haramka in Middle Juba on October 1, 2022. Local sources also reported that another man named Ibrahim Hassan Dahir was also killed but are conflicted as to his status as a militant or civilian. According to AFP, a top al-Shabaab leader
Somali state media reported that 167 al-Shabaab militants were killed by Somali airstrikes in collaboration with “international partners” near Harardhere town on September 2, 2023. al-Shabaab instead identified those killed as four inmates in a prison, adding that seven others were injured, while a local source attributed the airstrike to the US military. @HarunMaruf quoted
code: USSOM464
incident_date: 2025-03-15
status: publish
civilian_harm_status:
In 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