The U.S. Air Force announced on Friday that it has conducted another airstrike in Somalia. These strikes follow a record-breaking bombing campaign by the Trump administration in the country, which is largely underreported in American media.
Details of the strike and its targets
The Africa Command (AFRICOM) stated that this strike took place on September 8 and targeted the extremist group Al-Shabaab near the village of Qunbi, located 50 miles northeast of the port city of Kismayo. Like other instances, AFRICOM did not provide further details about this strike, and no statement was released by U.S. support forces regarding military operations on that day.
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AFRICOM stated: "Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure the security of operations continues." According to this agency, this strike has brought the total number of U.S. airstrikes in Somalia this year to 81, which is higher than any other year prior to 2025. In that year, President Trump oversaw 124 AFRICOM airstrikes, breaking the previous record of 63 strikes in 2019.
Ongoing strikes and their scope
The U.S. is also conducting an air war against an ISIS affiliate in the Puntland region of Somalia. A recent report indicates that another airstrike occurred in this area on September 3, although AFRICOM has not acknowledged it. This suggests that not all U.S. strikes are officially announced.
According to figures from the New America organization, which tracks air warfare and also includes airstrikes that have been reported but not officially recognized, the number of U.S. strikes in Somalia this year reaches 83.
The U.S. has been involved in Somalia for decades and has been fighting Al-Shabaab since 2006 when the George W. Bush administration assisted an Ethiopian invasion to overthrow the Islamic Courts Union. This group is the extremist branch of the Islamic Courts Union, and its first recorded attack in 2007 was a suicide bombing against Ethiopian forces stationed in Mogadishu. The group pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in 2012. The ISIS affiliate in Puntland has also emerged as a branch of Al-Shabaab, appearing for the first time in 2015.
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