A double tap airstrike allegedly conducted by the Somalia government with international partners on 7 May, 2024 reportedly caused “casualties” amongst Al-Shabaab in the village of Furuqley near the Qoryoley District in the Lower Shabelle region. Exact figures were not made available. While Caasimada Online claimed no civilians were impacted – “civilians […] had come out of the village where the attack took place, [and] were not targeted by the plane, as the only target was Al-Shabaab, which resulted in deaths and injuries.” – it is unknown whether civilian casualties occurred.

The strike targeted “Al-Shabaab militants” allegedly engaged in extortion at a checkpoint set up by the group. SNTV Daljir shared footage showing an airstrike hitting a tree where the checkpoint was located; post-blast, people can be seen running from the location. An emergency vehicle arrived at the location, after which a second strike was carried out. While the caption of the video identifies this as a “strike killing AS militants under a tree at a checkpoint in the village of Furuqley in the Lower Shabelle region”, which matches the incident that occurred on May 7, 2024. However, the reporter later says that the video is from a strike on August 15, 2022 – it is unclear if this video was re-published as an example of a similar operation, or if this is actually the strike that occurred on May 7, 2024.

Mustaqbal Media clarified that the Somali government forces “receive[d] air support from international security partners [allowing them to] carry out such targeted attacks.”

While no sources directly implicated the US in the operation, the Somali government’s reference to airstrikes has in the past indicated US involvement but could also refer to Turkish involvement or United Arab Emirates involvement.

The local time of the incident is unknown.