President Donald Trump announced that US forces struck Islamic State targets in northwestern Nigeria on December 25 after the Nigerian government reportedly requested military action from the United States. The strikes took place in Sokoto State, which borders Niger and has been one of the scenes of jihadist expansion from the Sahel into Nigeria.
On Monday, the Somali government announced the killing of Shabaab co-founder Jaafar Gurey in a “precision airstrike” that was likely conducted by the United States. If confirmed, Gurey’s death would make him the most recent senior leader of the Al Qaeda branch to be killed since Mohamed Mire in late 2024.
The United States launched a rare ground operation in northern Somalia that apprehended Abdiweli Mohamed Yusuf, the finance emir for the Islamic State’s so-called Somali Province. The raid was the first confirmed US ground operation in northern Somalia since January 2023.
By the end of March 2025, the Trump administration already launched at least 16 air and drone strikes inside Somalia. In comparison, the Biden administration only launched 10 strikes in 2024.
Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch for East Africa, has mounted considerable attacks over the last few weeks in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle and Hiraan regions just north of Mogadishu. The group’s offensive is attempting to reverse much of the federal government’s gains during the government’s counter-Shabaab offensive between 2022 and 2023.
Though Somalia says the raid was repelled, the major attack nevertheless came just days after a similar raid was conducted on a Ugandan military base in southern Somalia.
Abdullahi Yare was a founding leader of Shabaab, had a $3 million reward out for his capture, and is the first senior Shabaab leader killed in more than two years.
Shabaab faces one of the largest counter-offensives against it in recent years. However, to be successful, Somalia must also work to effectively hold liberated areas and not just conduct clearing operations.
Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss President Trump’s decision to order the withdrawal of a small American force from Somalia. Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, will continue to fight on, waging an insurgency against the Somali government while threatening countries throughout the region and possibly elsewhere as well.
At least one US soldier was wounded in the blast, while two Somali troops were also killed. This is the third time the group has reported clashing with American troops inside Somalia since Aug. 24.
Yesterday’s drone strike was the first US airstrike on the Islamic State in Somalia this year.
Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s regional branch in East Africa, assaulted the Manda Bay Airfield in Kenya earlier today. The extent of the damage is unclear, but at least some aircraft and equipment was set ablaze.
The Islamic State’s men in the Sahel claims another large-scale attack on Nigerien troops near the borders with Mali.
Shabaab has now assassinated four high-ranking Somali military personnel in the same general vicinity.
A US airstrike reportedly targeted Shabaab militants as they went on the offensive following the deadly terrorist attack in Nairobi.
Kunyo Barrow, where the most recent strike took place, is located in the Jubba River Valley, a stronghold of the al Qaeda affiliate.
A large concentration of Shabaab fighters a significant distance from its typical support zone in Jubba River Valley demonstrates the Al Qaeda affiliate’s resilience across Somalia.
This is the third time in the past month that US forces have conducted defensive airstrikes following Shabaab attacks.
The United States has conducted 24 strikes in Somalia in 2018, all of which have targeted Shabaab. The strike occurred near a town that was liberated by Somali forces just two days ago.
US Africa Command targeted a Shabaab fighting position outside of Mogadishu after the al Qaeda branch attacked US and Somali forces operating in the area.
The United States has conducted 21 strikes against Shabaab in Somalia so far this year, meaning it is on track to meet or exceed last year’s record high.
This is the first strike since early June, when the United States targeted both the Islamic State and Al Qaeda in separate strikes in Bani Walid.
Two regional combatant commands acknowledged reports of civilian casualties in recent operations.
In the past six months, US forces have thrice interdicted Shabaab car bombs and prevented imminent attacks against civilians in the Somalia capital, Mogadishu.
US forces killed four Shabaab terrorists in a strike in southern Somalia. The strike is the second since Feb. 19.
US forces have conducted four strikes in Somalia in 2018, all of which targeted Shabaab.
US Africa Command confirmed today that US forces took part “in an advisory capacity” in a Somali-led raid on an “indoctrination center” operated by Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa. Five people, some of whom were “under the age of 18,” were killed in the Jan. 18 operation. 30 other “male children” were freed.
The US carried out six airstrikes against an Islamic State camp “approximately 150 miles southeast of Sirte” on Sept. 22, according to US Africa Command. The bombings reportedly killed 17 jihadists and destroyed three vehicles.
More than six months after a ground offensive was launched to dislodge the Islamic State from Sirte, Libya, the so-called caliphate’s fighters remain holed up inside a few blocks of the city. According to AFRICOM, approximately 200 jihadists are entrenched in their positions.