Somalia media is reporting that an airstrike launched by an “international partner” in Somalia’s Bari region in the northeastern state of Puntland on May 21 killed four civilians, including three children and a pregnant woman, following a pattern of rising civilian casualties in the US-backed wars against ISIS and al-Shabaab in the country.
At this point, it’s unclear who was responsible for the strike, but the US is suspected since it has dramatically escalated its air campaign in Somalia, including airstrikes against the ISIS affiliate based in the mountains of Puntland. The UAE is also known to launch airstrikes in the area, and, according to Hiraan Online, locals in Puntland attributed airstrikes that killed civilians last year to Abu Dhabi.
Turkey also launches airstrikes in Somalia, but it’s unclear if it’s been involved in the bombing campaign in Puntland, as reporting indicates its strikes have only targeted al-Shabaab in southern Somalia.
Antiwar.com has asked US Africa Command whether its forces launched an airstrike in the area on May 21 and hasn’t received a reply at the time of publication.
According to the Somali Guardian, Somalia’s deputy ambassador to Tanzania, Ashkir Nur, said the strike took place near where US-backed Puntland forces are operating in a declared safe zone.
“This heinous incident occurred in the ‘Bahaya’ highlands of the Bari region, an area inhabited by pastoralist families. It was close to a deployment point for the ‘Darwish’ forces, and the bombarded area was among those designated by the government as ‘safe zones, far from shelling and targeting,'” Nur said.
The diplomat added that the father of the children survived but was wounded by the strike. “Mohamed Eid Ismail – the father of the three girls – survived this massacre. He is currently receiving treatment at hospitals in the city of Bosaso and is in a deplorable psychological state following the martyrdom of his pregnant wife and three daughters, as well as the severe damage inflicted upon his livestock and his modest worldly possessions,” Nur said.
Kaab TV reported that the strike occurred about 30 kilometers south of the village of Buruc in the Calmiskaad mountains, where the US frequently launches airstrikes, and that there was no information about the incident until days later due to the lack of telecommunications infrastructure in the area. “The injured man reached a place with communication access and informed people about the incident. A rescue team later traveled to the scene,” a local Buruc official told the outlet.
The Somali Guardian report said that the US-backed “counter-insurgency campaign” in Somalia has killed more than 100 civilians so far this year. Last week, in Jubaland, southern Somalia, seven civilians, including three children, were killed by an assault launched by the Danab, a special US-trained and funded Somali military unit.
According to Antiwar.com’s count, which is based on AFRICOM press releases, the US has launched at least 63 airstrikes in Somalia this year, both in the south and in Puntland. AFRICOM hasn’t taken credit for an airstrike since May 6, but it sometimes takes days or weeks for the command to acknowledge its strikes in the country, and it’s also unclear whether the US is taking credit for every strike it conducts.
The US-backed Somali Defense Ministry has announced several operations in recent weeks that it said involved airstrikes that were conducted with “international partners,” which could be a reference to the US.
Launching 63 airstrikes this year so far still puts AFRICOM on track to break the record for annual airstrikes that President Trump set last year at 124, as he oversaw a massive escalation of the US air war, which continues to be ignored by US media.
Trump’s escalation came after he loosened the rules of engagement by lifting restrictions on US drone strikes and raids carried out outside of officially declared combat zones. According to New America, an organization that tracks the air war, the US launched more airstrikes in Somalia in 2025 than were conducted during the administrations of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush combined.
