The Trump administration has shattered the record for total US airstrikes in Somalia in a single calendar year, as the US has been bombing the country at a record pace with virtually no American media coverage.
US Africa Command told Antiwar.com in an email on Tuesday that its forces launched a total of nine airstrikes in a recent two-week campaign against the ISIS affiliate in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region, bringing the total number of US airstrikes in Somalia this year to 68.
The previous record for US airstrikes in Somalia in a single year was set at 63 in 2019 during President Trump’s first term. The current Trump administration is set to significantly outpace the 2019 bombing campaign as it continues to provide air support for local Puntland forces fighting the ISIS affiliate in the northeast and for US-backed government forces fighting al-Shabaab in southern Somalia.
At the beginning of his term, Trump eased restrictions on airstrikes and special operations raids in areas outside of countries officially considered combat zones by the US, which applies to every country except Iraq and Syria. The result was a massive increase in US airstrikes, including in Yemen, where the Trump administration conducted a brutal bombing campaign from March 15 to May 6 that killed more than 250 civilians.
According to figures from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), Trump launched nearly as many airstrikes during his first five months in office as President Biden did during his entire four-year term. Trump also became the first US president to bomb Iran with his strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day US-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic.
The Trump administration has also conducted airstrikes against ISIS and al-Qaeda fighters in Iraq and Syria while also supporting the new Syrian government, which is led by a former al-Qaeda commander.
