AFRICOM did not link civilian deaths near Jamaame to US strikes — Al Jazeera
US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said it had not established, with sufficient probability, a link between US airstrikes and reports of the deaths of 10–12 civilians, as well as the destruction of homes and businesses in the Jamaame area in southern Somalia. At the same time, the US military confirmed that it carried out strikes in the area on November 14 and 15, 2025, Al Jazeera reports.
AFRICOM said it had completed its assessment of information on possible civilian harm, but the available information did not meet the preponderance-of-evidence standard that the US military uses to establish responsibility for casualties or destruction. The command did not specify whether its representatives had interviewed victims, relatives of those killed, hospital staff, local authorities or other witnesses. AFRICOM said it could resume the assessment if new information emerges.
Residents’ testimonies and UN data
Residents of Jamaame interviewed by the outlet spoke about people killed and wounded during an operation that combined airstrikes and ground fighting. Maryam Haji Abdi Guled, a mother of six, said that three of her children were injured during the bombing. Her son, Abdikadir Salah, was left with a metal fragment near his thigh; doctors warned that surgery to remove it could lead to paralysis.
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A monitoring network led by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees recorded 12 civilian deaths during fighting and airstrikes in the Jamaame area from November 16 to 18, 2025. At the same time, these data cover different episodes of ground fighting and airstrikes and therefore do not make it possible to determine which forces were responsible for each death. The same network reported that 22,800 people left Jamaame and surrounding villages over three days.
Intensification of the air campaign
According to AFRICOM, the United States had carried out 84 strikes in Somalia by September 2026, while the New America Foundation counted 88. The US campaign targets al-Shabab and an ISIS-affiliated group in the north of the country and is conducted in coordination with Somalia’s federal government.
According to Airwars estimates, at least 216 civilians were killed or injured by US strikes in Somalia from 2007 through the end of May 2025. The organization stressed that these are only documented cases, not a full estimate of the number of casualties. AFRICOM has previously revised its findings on civilian casualties in Somalia and acknowledged harm from its operations after initially stating that there had been none.
