Predator Drone
Unknown aircraft struck al-Shabaab bases in the Afgoye district of Lower Shabelle on Wednesday afternoon, residents told Somalia Report.
Afgoye, which is 30 kilometers south of the capital, is an al-Shabaab stronghold and where their officials are situated, according to government officials. Residents in the city said that powerful explosions were heard late on Wednesday airstrikes hit positions where fighters loyal to al-Shabaab had barricaded the road linking Afgoye and Burhakaba. "In the morning, there were planes flying over the city and some of them took pictures from different parts in the city especially the bases of al-Shabaab," said Ahmadey Isak.
An independent journalist in Afgoye who declined to be named confirmed the air strikes to Somalia Report. He said that the warplanes targeted the al-Shabaab military camp called Beerta-Kuwait, where hundreds of fighters and their leaders gather.
"At least four missiles hit in the area, and I saw black smoke rising from the scene. In the aftermath, al-Shabaab fighters responded by firing into the sky with anti-aircraft weaponry. No civilians were harmed in that air attack, and I am not sure about al-Shabaab casualties," said the journalist. He added, "Al-Shabaab generally don't use public hospitals.”
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the air strikes killed several militants. Al-Shabaab officials were not immediately available for comment.
Pro-al Shabaab radio Al-Furqan in Elasha Biyaha, not far from Afgoye, reported that a suspected foreign warplanes which were flying ove the areas were destroyed by al-Shabaab fighters.
Somali officials in the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) said they will investigate the airstrikes. Neither African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) officials in Mogadishu nor Kenyan Defense Force (KDF) offered comment on Wednesday's air strikes.
Six al-Shabaab militants, including three foreign fighters, were killed last week in Lower Shabelle by American drone attacks.