U.S. forces carried out a series of airstrikes against al-Shabab in Somalia at the start of the month, the latest escalation of the American involvement in the country.
U.S. Africa Command confirmed that American aircraft “conducted a series of airstrikes against al Shabaab in the vicinity of Bariire in central Somalia” between Aug. 1-8. between August 1-8, 2025.
“The airstrikes were in support of a military ground operation led by partner forces against terrorists in the area,” AFRICOM’s statement said. AFRICOM did not provide additional details or specifics on the strikes, citing operational security.
According to reports in local media, including BBC News Somali, the Somali military and Ugandan troops on the African Union mission to the country captured the town of Bariire after a week of fighting. The Somali government did not mention U.S. involvement, but AFRICOM’s statement confirms American support from the skies.
”al-Shabab suffered a crushing defeat with approximately 120 terrorists neutralized, over 100 wounded, dozens more captured. They also abandoned their weapons,” Somali Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi said in a statement.
It’s unclear how many were killed as a result of American airstrikes, or what aircraft and munitions were used in the strikes.
U.S. forces have regularly been active in Somalia, supporting the federally recognized government in its fight against al-Shabab, which previously held large swaths of the country. Much of that has been in training ground forces but also air support. American forces have also carried out extensive operations against the Somali chapter of ISIS, conducting airstrikes and raids. Last month the U.S. captured ISIS-Somalia’s finance chief in a joint operation. AFRICOM did not immediately disclose that, but local Somali forces announced the details. Since the start of the second Trump administration, the American military has ramped up its air war in Somalia following a noticeable scaling back of operations under the Biden administration. Since January there have been nearly 60 airstrikes, more than all airstrikes conducted under Biden.
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New America, which is tracking airstrikes in Somalia and other countries that the U.S. is operating in, reported that five strikes were carried out during the Aug. 1-8 operations. One strike occurred per day for the first four days, and then the fifth happened on Aug. 8.
According to New America’s data, U.S. forces carried out 13 airstrikes in Somalia in June and another six across July. The operations in Bariire in the first eight days of August account for nearly the same as the previous month.
