U.S. airstrike kills 27 Shabaab fighters in central Somalia

[Valin]

FDD's Long War Journal

Bill Roggio and Caleb Weiss

September 21, 2022

The U.S. military killed 27 members of Shabaab, Al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, in an airstrike in support of a Somali military and African Union offensive in central Somalia. Since June 3, the US has conducted at least seven airstrikes against Shabaab, according to data tracked by FDD’s Long War Journal.

“At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab terrorists who were attacking Somali National Army forces near Buulobarde, Somalia, on Sept. 18,” AFRICOM announced in a press release.

AFRICOM’s “initial assessment is that the strike killed 27 al-Shabaab terrorists and that no civilians were injured” in what the command described as a defensive strike.

(Snip)

The recent drone strike comes as the Somali National Army (SNA) mounts a large offensive against Shabaab in Somalia’s central Hiraan Region. Intense fighting has been ongoing in the area since the jihadist group’s incursions into Ethiopia from the region in July. 

However, the SNA – backed by the Macawisley, or clan-based militias in central Somalia – have made a concerted effort to combat Shabaab following the latter’s long hotel siege in Mogadishu last month. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud vowed to defeat the Al Qaeda branch in one year following the hotel siege, in which the recent offensive in Hiraan has been touted as part of this vow. 

Hiraan has traditionally been a strong-hold for Shabaab over the last decade and territorial control in the region often vacillates. In the last few days, however, the SNA – alongside the Macawisely and US airstrikes – has been able to recapture several towns and villages that have been under direct Shabaab control since 2011. 

(Snip)

On May 16, 2021, as the security situation in Somalia continued to deteriorate, the Biden administration ordered approximately 500 U.S. troops to return to Somalia to train Somali forces while aiding the SNA in its fight against Shabaab.

The recent initiative by the Somali government to work alongside local clan-based militias, backed by U.S. airstrikes, to oust Shabaab from its longtime strongholds in Hiraan is a welcome development. However, the jihadist group continues to dominate much of the rest of southern and central Somalia.