AFRICOM Airstrike Targets Al-Shabaab ~132 km Northwest of Kismayo

US Africa Command (AFRICOM) conducted a confirmed airstrike targeting Al-Shabaab approximately 132 km northwest of Kismayo, in the Jubbaland region of southern Somalia. AFRICOM Press Release #36323 confirmed the strike and stated it was conducted in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia. No casualty assessment was released per standard operational security policy. The strike is part of a dramatically intensified 2026 air campaign: by early March 2026, the US had already conducted at least 43 airstrikes in Somalia — on pace to exceed the 2025 annual record of 124 total strikes. The Trump administration has dramatically expanded the Somalia air campaign relative to the 11 strikes recorded in all of 2024 under Biden, acting under an expanded counter-terrorism mandate authorizing direct strikes against both Al-Shabaab and ISIS-Somalia.