Airstrike in Puntland Calmiskaad Mountains Kills Pregnant Woman and Three Daughters — No Official Statement; Somalia Deputy Ambassador Calls for Accountability

A foreign military airstrike targeting the Calmiskaad mountains (Bari Region, Puntland, approximately 30km south of Buruc) killed a pregnant woman and her three daughters on or around May 21, 2026. The victims were nomadic pastoralists from the area. Hiiraan Online reported the dead were buried after the strike, and no official statement was issued by Puntland authorities, AFRICOM, or any international partner. FTL Somalia and Hiiraan Online documented the incident as part of a pattern of rising civilian deaths from counterterrorism airstrikes in northeastern Somalia. Somalia's deputy ambassador to Tanzania publicly called for accountability and an independent investigation into the civilian casualties. The Calmiskaad mountains are the primary operating zone for ISIS-Somalia, which has been the target of multiple AFRICOM airstrikes in 2026: AFRICOM confirmed at least 63 strikes in Somalia by May 7 (PR #36471), with several targeting the same Golis/Calmiskaad mountain complexes near Bosaso. AFRICOM no longer publishes civilian casualty assessments following a policy change. Airwars has documented a pattern of credible civilian harm in the Bari Region airstrike campaign; the May 21 incident adds to growing concern about collateral damage from the accelerated 2026 US air campaign. The timing — amid Somalia's political and humanitarian crisis — compounded pressure on the FGS, which was navigating the opposition countdown (Day 6 on May 21) and the simultaneous piracy emergency involving 44 hostages.