AFRICOM on Record Airstrike Pace in Somalia: Nearly 50 Strikes in Q1 2026, Surpassing All Prior Annual Totals

US Africa Command (AFRICOM) reached nearly 50 airstrikes in Somalia through the first three months of 2026, according to reporting by Stars and Stripes. This pace — approximately 16-17 strikes per month — would produce roughly 200 annual strikes, far exceeding the 2025 record of approximately 125 total airstrikes (itself a historic high) and the prior peak of 63 in 2019. The escalation reflects a Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directive granting AFRICOM commanders substantially more delegated authority on when to launch strikes. Strikes have targeted Al-Shabaab leadership, logistics, and IED production facilities in Lower Shabelle, Middle Shabelle, Jubbaland, and ISIS-Somalia cave complexes in Puntland's Golis/Cal Miskaad Mountains. The record strike pace coincides with Operation Rolling Thunder / Bader ground operations in Lower Shabelle, creating a combined arms pressure on Al-Shabaab simultaneously with the domestic political crisis, which risks distracting SNA and government resources from the counter-insurgency.