| 2013 raid on Barawe | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 SEAL Team Six |  Al-Shabaab | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 24 Navy SEALs, unknown number of Navy SWCC (support element) | unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| none | none | ||||||
The 2013 raid on Baraawe was a military operation by SEAL Team Six to capture or kill Abdikadar Mohamed Abdikadar "Ikrima", a senior member of the Al-Shabaab insurgent group. It was launched in the southern town of Barawa, Somalia in October 2013.
On 5 October 2013, Al-Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab announced that Western naval forces had launched an assault on a house in the insurgent stronghold of Barawe, a town situated around 180 kilometres (110 mi) south of Mogadishu. He stated that the foreign soldiers had silencer guns, and exchanged gunfire and grenades with the militants before being driven away. Musab later asserted that the attack was launched by the UK SAS unit as well as Turkish special forces, and that one British commander was killed during the raid and four other SAS operatives were fatally wounded. Additionally, a Somali intelligence official indicated that a Chechen Al-Shabaab leader was the target of the mission, and that the insurgent commander was wounded during the offensive and one of his guards was killed. [1]
Somali police stated that the operation had the approval of the Somali government, and that seven individuals were killed during the mission. [2] Both NATO and EU Navfor denied involvement in the raid, as did a Turkish Foreign Ministry representative. A spokeswoman for the British Defence Ministry also said that she and her colleagues were not aware of any British involvement in the operation. [1] According to another Somali intelligence official, the target of the raid was Al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Godane (Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr). A senior US military representative also indicated that SEAL Team Six, the special operations unit responsible for killing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, launched the offensive but later abandoned the mission after coming under more fire than expected. Speaking about the aborted mission, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the insurgents "can run but they can't hide". A spokesman for the Pentagon likewise asserted that US soldiers had been involved in a counter-terrorism mission in Somalia against a known Al-Shabaab member, but did not elaborate. He also indicated that there were no US fatalities during the operation. [3] US officials later confirmed that the target of the raid was Al-Shabaab commander Abdikadar Mohamed Abdikadar "Ikrima". [2]
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a Multinational force formed by the African Union. The operation deployed to Somalia soon after the Islamic Courts Union was deposed by troops from Ethiopia during a large scale invasion in late 2006. The missions primary objective was to maintain the regime change between the ICU and the newly installed Transitional Federal Government, implement a national security plan and train the TFG security forces. As part of its duties, AMISOM later supported the Federal Government of Somalia in its war against Al-Shabaab. AMISOM was the most deadly peacekeeping operation in the post-war era.
Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA) is a component of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) is the primary military component assigned to accomplish the objectives of the mission. The naval components are the multinational Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) and Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) which operates under the direction of the United States Fifth Fleet. Both of these organizations have been historically part of United States Central Command. In February 2007, United States President George W. Bush announced the establishment of the United States Africa Command which took over all of the area of operations of CJTF-HOA in October 2008.
The Somali Civil War (2009–present) is the ongoing phase of the Somali Civil War which is concentrated in southern and central Somalia. It began in late January 2009 with the present conflict mainly between the forces of the Federal Government of Somalia assisted by African Union peacekeeping troops and al-Shabaab militants who pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda during 2012.
The Battle of Mogadishu (2009) started in May with an Islamist offensive, when rebels from al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam attacked and captured government bases in the capital of Mogadishu. The fighting soon spread, causing hundreds of casualties, and continued on at various levels of intensity until October. The battle's name usually includes the year, when referenced, in order to distinguish it amongst the nine major Battles of Mogadishu during the decades long Somali Civil War.
A series of battles in Hiraan, Shabeellaha Dhexe and Galgudug, between rebels of al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam and Somali government forces and ICU militants loyal to the government, erupted during spring 2009. The fighting led to al-Shabaab capturing major government strongholds and Ethiopian forces re-entering Somalia and setting up bases in Hiraan. There was a halt in fighting during a government offensive in Mogadishu, which started on May 22.
The Galgala campaign was a military campaign autonomous Puntland region of Somalia, that took place periodically from 8 August until 1 October 2014. It was aimed at re-gaining control of the Galgala hills, which had fallen in hands of al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab commander Sheikh Mohamed Said Atom and his militia.
The Battle of Gedo is a conflict of the 2009–present phase of the Somali Civil War. Centered in the region of Gedo, it pits the Somali government and its allies against the al-Qaeda-aligned militant group Al-Shabaab.
Operation Linda Nchi was the Kenya Defence Forces' invasion of southern Somalia beginning in 2011. The Kenyan government declared the operation completed in March 2012, but its forces then joined AMISOM in Somalia.
This is a 2012 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
The Battle of Kismayo was an offensive led by the Kenya Defence Forces, under the codename Operation Sledge Hammer, to seize the port city of Kismayo, Somalia, from Al-Shabaab from 28 September 2012. Members of the Raskamboni movement militia were part of the amphibious force.
This is a 2014 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
Operation Indian Ocean was a joint military operation between the Somali military, AMISOM and the United States military against the Al-Shabaab militant group aimed at eliminating the remaining insurgent-held areas in southern Somalia. It officially began in August 2014.
This is a 2015 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
On 27 March 2015, Al-Shabaab militants launched an attack on the Makka al-Mukarama hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia. The siege ended a few hours later on 28 March, after the National Intelligence and Security Agency's Gaashaan unit stormed the premises, recaptured it, and killed all five of the attackers. According to the Ministry of Information, around 20 people died during the standoff, including the perpetrators, security forces, hotel security guards and some civilians, with around 28 wounded. The special forces also rescued more than 50 hotel guests. President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud ordered an investigation into the attack, and the Ministry of Information announced that the federal government was slated to pass new laws to curb illicit firearms. On 8 May, the Makka al-Mukarama hotel officially reopened after having undergone renovations.
Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir, better known as Ikrima, is a terrorist described as one of the most dangerous commanders of the Somali terror organisation Al-Shabaab. He has reportedly been central in the planning of several terror attacks, and responsible for forging links between Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). He is of Somali ethnicity.
The 2017 raid onBarii was a military operation conducted by SEAL Team Six (DEVGRU) with Danab commandos from the Federal Government of Somalia. The raid resulted in the death of DEVGRU Senior Chief Petty Officer Kyle Milliken, marking the first US serviceman combat death in Somalia since the First Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, also known as "Black Hawk Down".
This is a 2016 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
Since the early 2000s, the United States has provided military support to the Transitional Federal Government and the Federal Government of Somalia in conflicts. U.S. military actions in Somalia date back to the 1990s; however, following the September 11th attacks, military action was justified as counterterrorism. The Obama and Trump administrations conducted drone and fighter aircraft strikes, advisory missions, and training; provided intelligence; and attacked al-Shabaab militants. Two U.S. special operations personnel, two contractors, one US Army soldier, and a CIA paramilitary officer have died during operations in Somalia.
On 20 July 2022, the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab launched an invasion from Somalia into Ethiopia's Somali Region. Taking advantage of the instability created by the Tigray war, the goal of the operation was to establish a presence for the group within southern Ethiopia.
