US Launches Airstrike Against al-Shabaab in Somalia

The US launched an airstrike against al-Shabaab in Somalia on Tuesday, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said on Wednesday. It marks the first US bombing of Somalia reported by AFRICOM in 2022.

AFRICOM said it conducted the strike in a remote location near Duduble, Somalia, in support of the US-backed government. The Somali military said its special forces, known as the Danab, killed 60 al-Shabaab fighters on Tuesday in operations in several areas in the Hiran region, including in Duduble.

AFRICOM said its “initial assessment” found no civilian casualties in its airstrike, but as recent reporting has shown, the Pentagon is notorious for undercounting civilian casualties. When it comes to Somalia, whenever journalists make it to the scene of a US airstrike, they usually find that civilians were killed.