Library image of an armed Reaper drone, December 2019 (US Air Force/ Senior Sergeant Haley Stevens)
In this strike in Barawe, Lower Shabelle, up to six al Shabaab militants were killed, including the the group’s leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane (aka Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr or Ahmed Abdi Aw Mohamed), international and local media reported. There were no reports of civilian harm. The strike was the first known US attack in Somalia for some
A US strike on an al Shabaab “command and logistics node” killed eight members of the group, according to a US Africa Command press release. There were claims that Abdirahman Mohamed Warsame, a commander of the terror group’s intelligence wing was killed in the strike, though this was not confirmed by AFRICOM. No civilians were
US Forces carried out a strike against an “al-Shabaab vehicle-borne improvised explosive device” in the early hours of December 12th, US Africa Command announced, which it said had removed an “imminent threat to the people of Mogadishu”. The early morning strike hit 65 kilometers southwest of the capital, AFRICOM said (later noting that the strike
US Africa Command reported that it had carried out an airstrike on the previous day “in the vicinity of Bariire, Lower Shebelle Region, Somalia, on February 7, 2019.” According to the official statement, “This precision airstrike was executed after our Somali partners were engaged by al-Shabaab militants as they conducted an operation to disrupt al-Shabaab
Reports emerged of a possible US airstrike in Jilib targeting a senior al Shabaab security commander, according to Voice of America (VOA) journalist Harun Maruf. Maruf – a journalist noted for his good sources within the Somali military – asserted on Twitter: “Hearing reports that an airstrike occurred in Jilib tonight targeting a senior Al-Shabaab
According to a Freedom of Information response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, this previously unknown US strike took place in Dinsoor, Somalia against an “al-Shabaab Named Objective”. It should be noted however that the last known declared US strike in Dinsoor prior to February 2nd 2015 was on January 31st 2015. There
Local media reported targeted strikes by an undeclared belligerent on the town of Bu’ale, which were said to have killed and injured senior named al Shabaab figures. According to Goobjoog News, “Reports indicate on the airstrike raid in Bay and Middle Juba region last night targeted Al Shabab base located in the area bulla falay
The US declared on the same date an airstrike in the vicinity of Jilib – which it said had killed “one terrorist.” However local sources, some pro al Shabaab, said the victim was in fact Mohamud Haji Sirad, a director of the Hormud telecoms company for Middle Juba. According to the Somali Guardian Mr Sirad
Al Shabaab members or civilians were allegedly killed in US strikes near Jilib and Basra. AFRICOM later denied conducting strikes in the area. Harun Maruf reported: “Overnight airstrikes killed dozens of Al-Shabaab militants in Jilib, Cmdr of AS’s Hisba police station in the town, Hassan Dhere, his deputy and a 3rd official among the dead,
A US airstrike alelgedly killed Al Shabaab fighter near Deb Scinnele, according to AFRICOM. The press release said: “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command forces conducted two airstrikes in the vicinities of Jamaame and Deb Scinnele, Somalia, Jan. 19. Initial assessments indicate the strikes killed three al-Shabaab operatives. The command’s
An ISIS leader and 10 of his associates were killed by a declared US counterterrorism operation in the Almiskad mountains of Bari region, Somalia on January 25, 2023. One US service member was injured during the operation when a dog bit him. AFRICOM initially released a statement that “the U.S. military conducted a successful counterterrorism operation
On the 9th of February, 2024, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) conducted an airstrike against Al-Shabaab near the village of Yaq Dabel, located to the west of the city of Kismayo in Lower Juba, Somalia. AFRICOM released a statement on the 14th of February regarding the strike which made reference to an initial post-strike assessment that
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 that the previous day it had “conducted two (2) airstrikes in the vicinity of Haradere, Somalia on November 21, 2018.” It added: “We currently assess these airstrikes did not injure or kill any civilians.” However, AFRICOM claimed that “the first airstrike killed six (6) al-Shabaab militants and the second airstrike destroyed a weapons cache.”
According to local reports a US airstrike, carried out as part of a land and air operation, was conducted in the Gambole area killing up to eight alleged Al-Shabaab fighters on March 8th. Two civilians were also reportedly killed in the strike and four more injured, Voice of America said. According to Mareeg: “U.S. forces
US forces helped Somali commandos in an operation in southern Somalia that killed several members of al Shabaab, a Pentagon official said on August 16th. The operation took place on August 10th. Somali forces approached an al Shabaab checkpoint. The terrorists reportedly opened fire and a gun battle ensued. “US advisers accompanied the Somali-led force,
Responding to allegations that it had conducted a November 18th airstrike on a radio station in Jilib, AFRICOM informed local media via Twitter that “it has not conducted an airstrike in Somalia since Nov. 3.” There were no publicly reported strikes on this date, and Airwars has reached out to AFRICOM for clarification. U.S. Africa
In its first declared action in Somalia of 2020, AFRICOM announced on the same day that “in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab terrorists who engaged Somali National Army partner forces on patrol near Bacaw.” AFRICOM added that “At this time, it is assessed this precision
Between four and six civilians were allegedly killed by a US airstrike near Janaale. Morad News, reportedly close to Al Shabaab, tweeted: “US drone strike kills 4 civilians after bombing a minibus near Janaale town. 2 of the victims r members of a well known family in Mogadishu. An elderly man & driver are among
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
31 al-Shabaab militants were killed by alleged US airstrikes in support of the Somali National Army in the Beerhani and Qudus areas of Lower Juba, Somalia on January 1, 2025. The official Somali National Army Radio posted on Facebook announcing that “On January 1, an airstrike in the Beerhani and Qudus areas of Lower Juba
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
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