Mogadishu (Somalia Today) — The United States has carried out a rapid series of airstrikes against Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia, ending a month-long lull in its declared campaign against jihadist groups and underscoring Washington’s growing military tempo in the Horn of Africa.
US Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, announced strikes on five days between June 14 and 19, all carried out in coordination with Somalia’s federal government and targeting the Al-Qaeda-linked group.
The strikes hit Kurtunwaarey, around 117 kilometres southwest of Mogadishu, on June 14; the Route 109 area, about 73 kilometres northwest of Kismayo airport, on June 15 and 16; Lower Juba, around 76 kilometres northwest of Kismayo, on June 18; and Welmaro, about 103 kilometres north of Kismayo, on June 19.
“AFRICOM, alongside the Federal Government of Somalia and Somali Armed Forces, continues to take action to degrade Al-Shabaab’s ability to threaten US forces and our citizens abroad,” the command said in near-identical statements.
“Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security,” it added.
The command did not release casualty figures for the June strikes, which came after no publicly declared US air operation in Somalia since a May 6 strike against the Islamic State group’s Somalia branch in the Golis mountains, southeast of Bossaso.
‘Data driven’
AFRICOM denied that the gap amounted to an operational pause.
“Our strike engagements are data-driven and results-oriented,” the command told Stars and Stripes. “We focus on maximizing every opportunity we have in our counterterrorism efforts.”
It said the strikes aimed to support Somali forces, who still rely heavily on foreign partners for air power, intelligence and specialist training.
“Somalia continued its efforts against terrorist elements in their country and was able to eliminate senior (Al-Shabaab) leadership,” AFRICOM said.
Somali officials told Somalia Today that the June operations included ground action by Somali forces, including Danab commandos, the US-trained special operations unit, and Jubaland troops.
The Somali government said Danab forces killed 14 Al-Shabaab fighters in Kurtunwaarey, while local accounts from the area reported civilian casualties and conflicting claims from both sides. The figures could not be independently verified.
Al-Shabaab routinely disputes official casualty claims and says government operations cause civilian harm, while Somali authorities accuse the group of using civilian areas to shield fighters and plan attacks.
The latest attacks bring AFRICOM’s declared strike count in Somalia this year to 68, targeting both Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State affiliate, according to US officials.
That puts the 2026 campaign on a record pace, with roughly 125 strikes in 2025, when the Trump administration sharply expanded air operations after a quieter period under President Joe Biden. The previous AFRICOM high was 63 strikes in 2019.
The surge followed a directive from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that gave AFRICOM commanders broader authority to approve strikes, according to US military reporting.
Announcing early 2025 strikes against ISIS-Somalia, Hegseth said Washington “always stands ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the United States and our allies”.
Scrutiny
The expanding campaign has drawn renewed scrutiny over transparency and civilian harm.
Rights groups and conflict monitors have long criticised AFRICOM for releasing only limited information on targets and casualties.
A Guardian investigation this month alleged civilians, including children, died in a November 2025 US strike in Jamaame, an account US officials have not publicly accepted.
“If the objective is to destroy Al-Shabaab, it’s pretty clear that they are not particularly effective,” David Sterman, an analyst at the New America think tank, told the newspaper.
US officials say the strikes form part of a wider effort to prevent Al-Shabaab and ISIS-Somalia from threatening Americans, Somali forces and regional partners.
Al-Shabaab has fought Somalia’s internationally backed government for nearly two decades and remains one of Al-Qaeda’s most resilient affiliates, controlling or influencing rural areas in the south and centre and carrying out bombings, assassinations and complex assaults.
The group has also attacked US-linked targets, including the 2020 raid on the Manda Bay area in Kenya that killed three Americans.
Washington has meanwhile reinforced its regional posture.
The United States began a $70 million upgrade this year at Manda Bay airfield, a Kenyan base used for Horn of Africa operations.
The US special operations task force in Somalia is also seeking cultural and political advisers to help troops navigate “local customs, history, cultural routines, tribal dynamics”.
But analysts say airstrikes alone are unlikely to defeat Al-Shabaab unless Somali forces can hold territory they have recovered and resolve political rifts between Mogadishu and federal member states, including Jubaland, where much of the latest fighting has unfolded.
