Investigation reveals the number of Somali civilians killed by the U.S. in airstrikes

Washington (Caasimada Online) – At least 216 civilians have been killed or injured in airstrikes and operations conducted by the United States in Somalia between 2007 and May 2025, according to a new investigation based on data collected by the organization Airwars.

The investigation, published by Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), analyzed 884 air operations carried out by the United States and its allies in Somalia, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.

Researchers recorded at least 3,336 civilians killed or injured in those four countries. Somalia recorded 216, while Syria had 1,336, Yemen 991, and Iraq 793.

ARIJ stated that these figures represent the minimum verifiable casualties and do not account for all civilians affected by U.S. military operations.

Researchers used Airwars data from January 2007 to the end of May 2025, taking the lowest recorded casualty numbers for each incident.

They also excluded incidents where there was controversy over whether the attack occurred and those where the number of civilians affected could not be sufficiently verified.

Significant discrepancy in numbers

Airwars does not record all U.S. airstrikes but focuses on operations that emerge from reports indicating civilian harm.

The agency gathers its data from local and international media, social media, death notices, and funerals, comparing various pieces of information before assessing the credibility of each incident.

Therefore, the number of 216 individuals is not the total civilian casualties resulting from nearly twenty years of U.S. military operations in Somalia.

Airwars currently estimates that U.S. operations in Somalia have killed between 85 and 162 civilians in incidents the agency considers verified or credible. It also reported that 35 to 55 additional individuals are likely to have been injured.

On the other hand, U.S. forces have only acknowledged six civilian deaths and 11 injuries resulting from their operations in Somalia, according to Airwars data.

The significant discrepancy between the two figures partly arises from the different methods used to investigate incidents. Airwars considers reliable local reports even when the U.S. military does not acknowledge that its operations caused civilian casualties.

The U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM, stated that it investigates allegations of civilian casualties using intelligence data, operational reports, and publicly available information.

In its latest quarterly report, dated June 30, AFRICOM stated that it had received three new allegations of civilian harm, while five previous cases remained open. The command closed two cases during that period, while six others remained open.

Children among the casualties

The ARIJ investigation also stated that children constituted approximately 42 percent of the civilian casualties in the four countries discussed in the study, which equates to 1,286 children.

However, that figure is a total for Somalia, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, and does not mean that 42 percent of the 216 people recorded in Somalia were children.

The investigation also did not clarify how many of the 216 people who died in Somalia were injured.

ARIJ added that the U.S. military used Project Maven in Somalia and Yemen, which is an intelligence system that operates on artificial intelligence technology, to process surveillance data and assist in identifying targets.

The agency stated that it had contacted several U.S. agencies to respond to the findings of the investigation, and that it sent its final request to the U.S. Air Force in June 2026, but had not received any response before the report was published.

AFRICOM, for its part, stated that it takes allegations related to civilian casualties seriously and continues to publish quarterly assessments regarding incidents linked to U.S. operations.