US Africa Command said in a press release on Wednesday that its forces carried out an airstrike in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region on October 20, marking at least the 83rd time the US has bombed Somalia this year.
AFRICOM offered no details about the strike besides saying that it targeted the ISIS affiliate in the area and was launched in a remote mountain region about 52 miles southeast of the Gulf of Aden port city of Bossaso. “Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security,” the command said.
Since April, AFRICOM has stopped sharing information about casualties and assessments of potential civilian harm in its airstrikes. The US-backed Puntland forces did not release a statement on any fighting that may have occurred the day of the latest strike, but did claim progress in the fight against ISIS militants in comments to Garowe Online a day later.
“In today’s operation, the forces removed fleeing Daesh terrorists from the Habar-Bakuuje area near Il-Abal. Several terrorist members were killed in the fighting, and the clearing operation against the fleeing militants is progressing well,” said a statement from the Puntland Counter-Terrorism Command.
The US has supported local forces in Puntland since the US-backed government based in Mogadishu doesn’t control the area. This year, the US has also been launching airstrikes in southern and central Somalia to support the government in its war against al-Shabaab.
President Trump has launched a record number of airstrikes in Somalia this year, shattering the previous annual record of 63, which he set back in 2019. For context, President Biden launched a total of 51 airstrikes in Somalia throughout his four years in office, and President Obama launched 48 over eight years.
Due to the lack of media coverage, it’s unclear what impact the US air war is having on Somali civilians this year. Last month, AFRICOM took credit for an airstrike in the northern Sanag region that killed a prominent clan elder. AFRICOM claimed he was an al-Shabaab weapons dealer, but that was strongly denied by family members and locals who say the victim, Abdullahi Omar Abdi, was known as a peacemaker.
