Beginning in the late 2000s, the Federal Government of the United States has supported the Federal Government of Somalia in counterterrorism after the September 11th attacks. The Obama administration and the Trump administration increased their support of the Somali government mostly through strikes by drone and fighter aircraft, advisory missions, training, and the provision of intelligence to target the violent extremists al-Shabaab. Two U.S. special operations personnel, two contractors, one US Army soldier, and a CIA paramilitary officer have died during operations in Somalia.
In late 2020, US President Donald Trump announced that he would pull most US troops out of Somalia by 15 January 2021. On 17 January 2021, the US military announced that it had completed its troop drawdown. However, it has continued its training of allied forces, limited airstrikes, and special operations.
In May 2022, according to a government spokesman, President Joe Biden accepted a request from the Pentagon to redeploy US soldiers to Somalia in order to combat the al-Shabaab insurgents.
US airstrikes on Somalia
Since 2007, the Department of Defense (United States) has targeted militant groups, mainly al-Shabaab, within Somalia using airstrikes, which have included targeted drone strikes, as well as United States Navy missile strikes. Special forces teams have also conducted raids and acted as advisors. Airstrikes further targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant were ramped up dramatically under the Trump administration.
Robert Moore, a public policy advisor, suggests that a possible reason for US intervention in Somalia is that some government officials and international experts believe that military force should be used for humanitarian purposes, especially in mass-casualty conflicts. This school of thought is known as Responsibility to Protect (R2P), with the argument being made that international intervention could have prevented much of the bloodshed of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994.
Timeline
2007
US forces conducted three strikes in Somalia during 2007 killing a minimum of 21 people including two civilians. January 7 A U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship operating under JSOC targeted a suspected al-Qaeda convoy. The strike killed various potential fighters including Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, and Sudanese explosive expert Abu Talha al Sudani known as Tariq Abdullah. The convoy had been tracked at night by a MQ-1 Predator drone. An estimated 5–10 militants were killed and 4-5 injured. A joint U.S.–Ethiopian team landed at the strike location shortly after and confirmed at least 8 killed. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the militants killed in this strike were connected to the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
January 9
Four towns near the southern city of Ras Kamboni were targeted by an AC-130 gunship. The strike which was targeting a training camp and al-Qaeda associates, reportedly left 4–31 people killed. The intended target was thought to be Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, the target of a previous airstrike. Another strike was reported near Afmadow in which 22–31 people were reported killed. January 23 At 4:00 a.m., an AC-130 gunship operating from an airbase in eastern Ethiopia, targeted the town of Waldena in an attempt to kill Ahmed Madobe. Madobe survived the airstrike but was later captured by American and Ethiopian forces who landed by helicopter at 10:00 a.m. June 1 The USS Chafee fired a dozen rounds and possibly one cruise missile on the coast of Bargal, in northern Somalia. The strikes were targeting 35 militants that had landed on the coast and had begun to fire on local forces. U.S. officials told The New York Times that U.S. operatives were on the ground, leading to the American warship firing in self-defense. 8–12 militants, including some foreign fighters were killed.
2008
March 3
1–3 cruise missiles were launched by United States at the town of Dhobley in southern Somalia, four miles from the Kenyan border. The strike was targeting the leader of the Ras Kamboni Brigades known as Hassan Turki, and al-Qaeda member Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan. At the time, Saleh Alii was the subject of a $25 million bounty placed on him by the United States government. May 1 Four cruise missiles launched by a U.S. Navy warship struck a compound in Dhusamareb, in central Somalia. The strike killed senior al-Shabaab leader Aden Hashi Ayro and several other fighters. Reports suggest that an AC-130 was also involved in the operation. The attack purportedly caused al-Shabaab to ban the use of mobile phones by its fighters.