AFRICOM Airstrike Targets Al-Shabaab ~50km NE of Kismayo; US Somalia Air Campaign Surpasses 60 Strikes in 2026

US Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting Al-Shabaab approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of Kismayo in Jubbaland on April 30, 2026, as announced in AFRICOM Press Release #36449. The strike was conducted in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia under the bilateral defense agreement authorizing US counterterrorism operations in Somalia. The April 30 strike is among the latest in the dramatically intensified 2026 US air campaign against Al-Shabaab, which has now surpassed 60 confirmed strikes since January 1 — a pace tracking to over 200 strikes per year, more than triple the previous annual record of 63 total strikes in all of 2019. The expansion of the campaign was authorized by Defense Secretary Hegseth under expanded strike authority delegated from the Trump administration. AFRICOM now regularly conducts multiple strikes per week across Somalia, targeting Al-Shabaab formations in Jubbaland, Lower Shabelle, Middle Shabelle, and ISIS-Somalia in Puntland's Golis Mountains. The Jubbaland theater remains the most active zone for recent strikes: the 57th strike targeted Al-Shabaab ~90km SW of Kismayo (April 21), and joint airstrike-and-ground operations in the Juba regions April 15–18 killed 81 fighters. The independent civilian harm monitoring organization Airwars has documented credible evidence of civilian casualties in multiple AFRICOM Somalia strikes, while AFRICOM no longer publishes individual casualty assessments.