Somalia’s Ministry of Defense said Somali and Turkish forces carried out airstrikes against al-Shabab positions in the Godey area of Lower Shabelle, killing about 35 militants and seriously wounding more than 20. The ministry attributed the operation to F-16 fighter aircraft used in coordination with the Somali National Armed Forces.
The casualty figures and description of the targets came from the Somali government and had not been independently confirmed. Al-Shabab had not issued a public response to the claims. No information about civilian casualties was included in the supplied accounts.
According to the ministry, the strikes hit bunkers or caves, weapons caches and shelters used by members of the group. Officials said large secondary explosions followed, which they presented as evidence that explosive material, weapons and other military supplies had been stored at the site. The government also alleged that militants and vehicles carrying explosives were at the location in preparation for attacks on Somali civilians.
The operation was described as part of Somalia’s continuing campaign against al-Shabab. The ministry thanked international partners and Somali residents for supporting counterterrorism efforts, and said the national army remained committed to protecting the population and eliminating the group’s threat.
Turkey’s reported role illustrates the direct military assistance provided to Somali forces in operations against the insurgency. The two supplied reports agreed on the location, aircraft type and approximate casualty toll, and both based those central details on the defence ministry’s statement. They did not provide an independent battlefield assessment or identify the people reported killed.
The timing placed the operation one day before Somalia’s Independence Day observance. That calendar context does not establish a connection between the strike and the celebration, and the ministry’s account did not say the date determined the operation.
The absence of outside verification remains significant in assessing the result. Information from active conflict areas can be difficult to corroborate quickly, while official estimates may change as more evidence becomes available. On the record supplied for this report, the confirmed development is the Somali ministry’s announcement that a jointly coordinated air operation occurred in Godey; the stated fatalities, injuries, contents of the target site and planned attacks remain government claims.
The government did not disclose how the casualty estimate was produced, whether Somali ground forces entered the site after the bombardment or what evidence was recovered. It also did not state how many aircraft participated beyond identifying the F-16 type. Those gaps prevent a fuller assessment of the mission’s scale and outcome from the supplied material.
