US air strikes in Somalia

In short

US forces have struck targets in Somalia for nearly two decades, under the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) since its creation. This page records what the US government, rights groups and researchers say about the strikes, without taking sides. The wider picture of foreign forces is in Foreign forces in Somalia.

Early strikes and leaders killed

On 8 January 2007 a US gunship attack reportedly killed eight fighters linked to Aden Hashi Ayro, and on 1 May 2008 a US strike on his house in Dhusamareb killed him and others (Wikipedia, Aden Hashi Farah Ayro). On 1 September 2014 a US strike near Sablale in Lower Shabelle killed al-Shabaab's emir Ahmed Abdi Godane (Christopher Anzalone, CTC Sentinel, September 2014).

The rise after 2017

On 30 March 2017 President Trump signed an order declaring southern Somalia an "area of active hostilities". Amnesty International recorded 34 strikes in the last nine months of 2017, more than in 2012–2016 combined, 47 in 2018 and 24 in the first two months of 2019; a retired US brigadier general told Amnesty the change widened who could be targeted (Amnesty International, 20 March 2019). The Council on Foreign Relations counts more than 275 reported strikes under that administration, against 60 over the eight Obama years; President Biden limited strikes on taking office, then in mid-2022 sent several hundred troops back and approved targeting about a dozen al-Shabaab leaders (Council on Foreign Relations, Al-Shabaab backgrounder). Stanford's Mapping Militants project counted about 30 strikes from January to May 2025 alone (see the offensive against al-Shabaab, 2022–2025). US strikes have also targeted the Islamic State in Somalia, including one south-east of Bosaso on 31 May 2024 (see Abdulqadir Mumin).

Amnesty International's findings, 2019

In The Hidden US War in Somalia, published on 20 March 2019, Amnesty examined five strikes in Lower Shabelle and found that they killed 14 civilians and injured 8, based on more than 150 interviews, satellite images and munition fragments. They included a strike near Darusalaam on 12 November 2017 that killed three farmers, and an explosion at Illimey on 6 December 2017 that killed five civilians, two of them children. Amnesty said the strikes appeared to violate international humanitarian law and that some could amount to war crimes (Amnesty International).

AFRICOM rejected the findings. It said its assessments "found that no AFRICOM airstrike resulted in any civilian casualty or injury", denied carrying out the Illimey attack, said those killed at Farah Waeys were al-Shabaab members, and said al-Shabaab had an interest in making false claims of civilian deaths (Amnesty International; Amnesty International, report page).

AFRICOM's admissions

On 5 April 2019 AFRICOM said a review had found that a strike near El Buur on 1 April 2018 killed two civilians as well as four fighters; an internal finding of April 2018 "was not properly reported" to headquarters, and Congress had been told of zero civilian casualties. Its commander, General Thomas Waldhauser, said: "Credibility, transparency, and accountability are fundamental to military operations" (The Defense Post, 5 April 2019). In April 2020 AFRICOM's first quarterly civilian-casualty report acknowledged that a February 2019 strike near Kunyo Barrow killed two civilians and injured three; General Stephen Townsend said: "We are deeply sorry this occurred." Amnesty called the reports "a welcome step towards transparency" (Al Jazeera, 27 April 2020).

Sources differ

• Civilian deaths. Amnesty and local witnesses report more than AFRICOM has acknowledged; AFRICOM has said al-Shabaab has an interest in making false claims of civilian deaths.
• Strike counts. Totals differ between AFRICOM releases, the CFR, Amnesty and research projects, as not all strikes are announced.

Read the primary sources yourself

• Amnesty International, The Hidden US War in Somalia (2019): report.
• Council on Foreign Relations, Al-Shabaab backgrounder: page.