US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a press release on Wednesday that its forces conducted an airstrike to the southwest of Bariire, a town in southern Somalia, on August 17, marking at least the 58th US airstrike in Somalia this year.
The command said that it launched the strike against al-Shabaab in support of US-backed government forces and offered no other details. “Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security,’ AFRICOM said.
The US-backed Somali Defense Ministry said in a press release on August 18 that the Danab, a special US-trained military unit, conducted a major operation against al-Shabaab in Awdheegle, a town that’s just six miles southwest of Bariire, putting it in the area where AFRICOM said it conducted the strike.
The Defense Ministry said the operation was carried out with support from “international partners” and that it targeted “fortifications and hideouts used by al-Shabaab militants.” The ministry claimed that over 100 al-Shabaab militants were killed in the attack and didn’t share any information about its own casualties.
The ministry said that al-Shabaab’s “defensive tunnels and bunkers were destroyed through precision airstrikes,” suggesting the US could have launched more than one strike. Antiwar.com asked AFRICOM if it could confirm that its forces were involved in the operation but hasn’t yet received a reply.
From August 1 to August 8, AFRICOM provided air support to government forces and the African Union force, known as AUSSOM, in a battle to retake Bariire. AFRICOM told Antiwar.com that it launched five airstrikes during the week-long battle.
While the US-allied forces retook Bariire, al-Shabaab has been gaining significant territory in southern Somalia overall in an offensive it launched in February, taking dozens of towns and villages. The US-backed government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is considered very weak and has been losing the support of clans it previously relied on to fight al-Shabaab.
The US air war in Somalia gains virtually no media coverage in the US, even though the Trump administration is bombing the country at a record pace. At 58 airstrikes, the administration is well on its way to breaking the annual record, which President Trump set at 63 in 2019 during his first term.
Besides bombing al-Shabaab in southern Somalia, the US has also been launching airstrikes against the ISIS affiliate in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region, where the US backs local forces.
