The pattern of operations in 2017 in what the Obama administration used to call areas outside of active hostilities indicates that the US will continue the reinvigorated air campaign in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya in the coming year.
At least 17 Shabaab fighters were killed and a suicide car bomb was destroyed in two strikes that have taken place in Somalia over the past four days.
On Dec. 25, the Islamic State released a video promoting its fighters in Somalia and inciting attacks in the West. The group’s propagandists referred to the cadre as the Islamic State’s Somali “province.”
The attack killed eight Shabaab fighters and destroyed one vehicle, according to the AFRICOM press release.
The explosion, which took place as Somail police were parading, killed at least 18 people and wounding at least another 15. Shabaab claimed credit for the attack.
The US military has launched 32 strikes in Somalia since the beginning of 2017, more than doubling last year’s total of 15.
Al Qaeda’s general leadership and regional branches have released statements denouncing the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
US forces conducted a strike that killed 100 Shabaab fighters northwest of the capital, adding to a record month for the air campaign in Somalia.
On Nov. 17, The Foundation for Defense of Democracies and FDD’s Long War Journal held an event to discuss the findings from the recently released documents from Osama bin Laden’s compound.
Although the month of November is only halfway complete, it is already the most active month of the Somalia air campaign against Shabaab and the Islamic State since its inception.
The US military continues to intensify its air campaign in Somalia against Shabaab and its rival, the Islamic State.
The video serves as an important reminder of Shabaab’s continual potent threat against both African Union and Somali forces inside Somalia.
The US military has now targeted Shabaab forces using airstrikes at least 14 times this year. Shabaab has continued to threaten the Somali capital despite the increased US targeting.
The US military launched its first airstrike against the Islamic State’s network in the eastern African country of Somalia earlier today, complementing a decade long air campaign against Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in the country.
Two suicide car bombs were detonated in Mogadishu earlier today. The twin attacks were carried out just two weeks after a massive bombing killed more than 300 people.
Somali officials estimate that more than 200 people were killed in a pair of bombings and a suicide assault on a hotel in the Somali capital. Neither Shabaab nor the Islamic State has claimed credit for the deadly attacks, but Shabaab has targeted many hotels in Mogadishu using the same tactics.
AFRICOM has stepped up operations against al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa. The US military has now targeted Shabaab forces five times and killed 10 fighters over the past week.
This year has seen at least 32 car bombings in Mogadishu, which represents an increase in this type of attack. Shabaab has claimed the vast majority, which have killed or wounded at least 242 people.
The US military has stepped up its attacks on al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa after the jihadist outfit has regained ground over the past two years. AFRICOM has targeted Shabaab 10 times since the beginning of June.
US Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced three more strikes on Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia and East Africa, over the past two days. All three took place in Shabaab-held territory.
US Africa Command launched two “kinetic strikes” against Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia and East Africa, today. The US military has targeted Shabaab three times over the past two weeks.
US Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed that its July 30 “kinetic strike” killed Ali Jabal, a Shabaab commander who led forces and conducted attacks in Mogadishu and the Banadir regions in southern Somalia. The targeting of Shabaab leaders has not prevented the group from regaining ground in the south.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) says that 12 Ugandan soldiers were killed in an ambush by Shabaab yesterday. The al Qaeda branch claims the casualties were much higher and a local official told the press that 24 bodies were carried away from the scene.
One Shabaab fighter from the “Mogadishu Attack Network” was killed. The strike is the second of its kind reported by AFRICOM over the past month.
Additionally, the US State Department noted that Somali security forces “remained incapable of securing and retaking towns from al-Shabaab independently,” and while not explicitly stated, hinted that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is failing.
AFRICOM continues to describe offensive operations against al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia as “self defense strikes.” The July 4 strike in southern Somalia targeted a Shabaab “troop concentration.”
The raid shows that while Shabaab is largely focused in central and southern Somalia, it continues to be a threat in the north as well.
A Shabaab assault on a popular nightclub and restaurant in Mogadishu has left at least nine people dead and several others wounded. At least 20 people are still being held hostage inside the restaurant, according to local reports. Earlier today, a suicide car bomb detonated outside of a nightclub near the Posh Hotel leaving several people […]
While announcing an airstrike that targeted a Shabaab “command and logistics node” in southern Somalia, the US military warned of al Qaeda’s resurgence in the country and said it has “taken advantage of safe haven.”
Between 30 and 60 Puntland troops are reported to have been killed after Shabaab overran a base in the Galgala mountains. Fighters from al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa have successfully overrun Somali and African Union bases in the past and inflicted high casualties.