The US has launched airstrikes in Somalia for three straight days this month as the Trump administration continues a record-shattering bombing campaign in the country that receives virtually no US media coverage.
US Africa Command said in a press release on Tuesday that its forces launched an airstrike against al-Shabaab on July 5 in the vicinity of the village of Juba, about 46 miles northwest of the port city of Kismayo. As usual, the command offered no other details about the attack.
The bombing came after AFRICOM said that it launched strikes against al-Shabaab on July 3 and July 4. Al Shabaab’s Shahada News Agency alleged that recent US airstrikes in the Farsooley area west of Mogadishu, an area AFRICOM said it targeted on July 3, hit residential buildings, a mosque, a school, and commercial buildings.
The Shahada News Agency also published photos that purported to show the damage and two people, including a woman, who were allegedly injured by the US strikes. The US-backed Somali military claimed that the Danab, a US-trained and armed special operations unit, conducted operations in the same area and killed 15 al-Shabaab militants.
Al-Shabaab claimed that its fighters were able to repel the Danab, which then prompted the US airstrikes. So far, neither side’s account has been confirmed, and it’s unclear whether the battles and attacks they referenced occurred on the same day. The situation on the ground in Somalia is always difficult to ascertain due to the lack of media coverage, al-Shabaab’s restrictions on internet use, and the US-backed government’s crackdown on journalists who report critically on the war.
The series of US airstrikes comes after the US informed the UN that it would no longer support the African Union’s mission in Somalia, known as AUSSOM, which has troops on the ground in Somalia that are involved in the war against al-Shabaab.
On top of the airstrikes against al-Shabaab, the US has also been launching airstrikes against an ISIS affiliate in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region. The July 5 US bombing marked at least the 72nd US airstrike of the year in Somalia, putting AFRICOM on track to break its annual record, which it set at 124 in 2025.
President Trump has overseen a massive escalation of the US air war in Somalia, which 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 124 airstrikes launched in 2025 are more than those conducted during the administrations of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush combined.
