Drones and Targeted Killing in the Middle East and Africa by Rinehart Christine Sixta;

Author:Rinehart, Christine Sixta;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic

Figure 4.1 American Drone Strikes in Somalia 2011–2015. Source: The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, “US Strikes in Somalia: 2007–Present,” 2016, accessed May 15, 2016, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-LT5TVBMy1Rj2WH30xQG9nqr8-RXFVvzJE_47NlpeSY/edit#gid=859698683.

Many of the United States drone strikes in Somalia that fly from Camp Lemmonier, operated by Air Force pilots in the United States (mainly Creech), have focused on al-Shabaab training camps. On June 23, 2011, Predators struck a militant training camp, south of Kismayo. The strikes were aimed at two senior militants who were reportedly planning an imminent terrorist attack on the UK, including Ibrahim al Afghani.29 After the strike a JSOC team in helicopters came to collect the bodies.30 On July 6, 2011, American drones or planes reportedly hit three al-Shabaab militant training camps in Afmadow.31 On March 10, 2015, “unidentified armed drones” targeted two alleged al-Shabaab camps in the towns of Torato and Ambereso; the number of people killed is unknown.32 In March 2016, the United States targeted the Raso training camp, where over 150 fighters were killed in an al-Shabaab graduation ceremony; this strike is the deadliest US drone strike ever.33 On April 11–12, 2016, drone strikes were sent to destroy another camp in southern Somalia, killing about six people.34

So far, the United States has killed few major al-Shabaab leaders in Somalia with drone strikes. On September 1, 2014, Ahmed Abdi Godane, the Emir of al-Shabaab was killed in a coordinated air and drone strike along with six other militants.35 He was quickly replaced with Abu Ubaidah. External Operation Chief Yusuf Dheeq was killed in February 2016 outside of Mogadishu.36 His replacement Adan Garar, a senior member of al-Shabaab secret police, the Amniyat, was killed on March 12, 2015 by a drone strike. On March 31, 2016 Hassan Ali Dhoore was killed in a strike south of Jilib with two other militants; Dhoore helped to plan the Christmas Day 2014 attack at the Mogadishu Airport and a March 2015 attack at the Maka al-Mukarramah hotel.37 On December 2, 2015, a US air strike killed Abirahman Sandhere, a senior al-Shabaab fighter, along with two unidentified associates. On December 22, 2015, Abu Ubaidah, the successor of Godane was killed by American drone strike.

In Figure 4.2, Deaths from US Drone Strikes Somalia, 2011–2015,38 and the minimum and maximum numbers of deaths caused by American drone strikes in Somalia are indicated. Compared with other countries in this books such as Yemen, Pakistan, or Afghanistan, civilian casualties are lower per drone strike. From 2011–2015, there were approximately 6 people killed per drone strike, including the intended targets, the number of which is unknown. According to numbers published by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, this number has more than doubled with the inclusion of half of 2016. With the first half of the year 2016 included, the maximum number of people killed per drone strike is over thirteen people, again including terrorists. This is a testament to the expansion of drone strikes in Somalia with the passage of time and another indicator of what is to be expected to come in the future of Somalia.

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