Somalia

‘Black Hawk Down’ documentary shines new light on the battle that claimed 19 American lives

A new documentary/war movie about Operation Gothic Serpent, also known as the Black Hawk Down incident, offers a fresh perspective on the battle that cost 19 Americans their lives.

Retired Air Force Colonel Randall Larsen worked with retired Brigadier General Bill David, who fought in the battle, to produce “Black Hawk Down: The Untold Story.” The documentary showcases the actions of the 10^th Mountain Division. The 10^th Mountain Division, alongside Marines, were the first to deploy to the war-torn country in 1992 as part of Operation Restore Hope, meant to ensure that humanitarian aid sent by the U.S. and the United Nations was distributed to the starving Somali civilians and not stolen by the warring factions. They failed to accomplish this, which is why Task Force Ranger deployed.

The operation took place on October 3-4, 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia. The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) was hunting down Mohamed Farrah Aidid—a Somali warlord responsible for much of the chaos and bloodshed in the country’s civil war—and his key lieutenants. JSOC’s Task Force Ranger was comprised of Delta Force’s C Squadron, B Company; 3^rdRanger Battalion; Air Force pararescuemen and combat controllers; a small sniper element from SEAL Team 6; and a helicopter detachment that included MH-60 Black Hawks and AH-6 Little Birds from the 160^th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (160^th SOAR).

Although not a part of Task Force Ranger, the 2^ndBattalion, 10^th Mountain Division was also deployed to Somalia to provide conventional support and serve as the quick reaction force (QRF) to the American commandos in case they ran into trouble. The 10th Mountain QRF was sent in alongside Pakistani and Malaysian U.N. peacekeepers (the force was accompanied by a number of Delta operators). According to Delta Force operators, the QRF was pivotal in the rescue of the stranded Task Force Ranger, but neither the book nor the movie acknowledged its role.

Colonel Larsen told the Army Times in an interview, “As I started peeling the onion and looking into this thing I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is an incredible story and I didn’t know it.’ I’d read the book when it came out. I’d seen the movie. I’d sat in bars with Bill and kind of heard it a little bit.”

Operation Gothic Serpent has been dubbed a debacle of great proportions. And politically, it was. But the military portion of the operation should be considered a success. Task Force Ranger did accomplish its objectives (capturing a number of high-value targets), and in the process killed more than 1,000 enemy combatants. NEWSREP’s own George Hand and his Delta squadron deployed to Mogadishu immediately after the battle to assist their comrades.

Colonel Larsen, who also served in the Army during his 32-year military service and fought in Vietnam, has also produced a documentary. It’s titled “Operation Whitecoat” and focuses on conscientious objectors who volunteered for military biological experiments from the 1950s to 1970s.

Earlier in March, “Black Hawk Down: The Untold Story” was screened at the International Spy Museum and the Army-Navy Club. You can pre-order it on Amazon.

This article was written by Stavros Atlamazoglou

Feature image: Delta Force A Squadron operators kitting up for operations in Mogadishu (Image courtesy of George Hand)

US Airstrikes in Somalia Kill 35 al-Shabaab Fighters

On Monday, the Pentagon announced that a U.S. airstrike in Somalia targeted and killed 35 al-Shabaab fighters near the Ethiopian border. No civilian casualties were reported.

The U.S. was active with airstrikes over the weekend, conducting four against al-Shabaab targets alone, which reportedly killed two other fighters.

The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) released a statement saying that the airstrike hit the targets “as they were transitioning between locations in a rural area,” this site is located approximately 23 miles east of Beledweyne, Hiran region.

“We continue to support our Somali partners, especially when their operations provide us opportunities to take the fight to Al Shabaab as an element of our partnered strategy,… “In the case of this strike, we interrupted an Al Shabaab attempt to mass their forces,” AFRICOM Director of Operations Maj. Gen. Gregg Olson said.

“Precision strikes eliminated a potential threat to our partners and to the people of Somalia well before the terrorists ever got themselves organized.”

According to the DOD, there is between 3000 to 7000 al-Shabaab fighters and up to 250 ISIS fighters in the region as of last summer. The head of AFRICOM, Marine Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, told the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month that the U.S. airstrikes alone will not defeat the militant group.

“At the end of the day, these strikes are not going to defeat al-Shabaab,” Waldhauser said.

But with the U.S. vowing to cut troop strength in Africa, especially the counterterrorism missions by about 10 percent, or roughly 720 of the 7,200 military forces serving in the command, the U.S. has stepped up airstrikes on the terrorists. It is one way of keeping the al-Shabaab fighters off-balance while they aid the Somali National Army to step up and take the lead role in securing their own borders.

They have a long, long way to go but they are making some progress, with the help of coalition airstrikes. Prior to 2017, the U.S. was only authorized to strike targets that were threatening U.S. advisors on the ground in a self-defense mode. But last year, the airstrikes were allowed to target al-Shabaab or ISIS elements wherever the opportunity arose. They carried out nearly 50 airstrikes a year ago.

So far, this year, the U.S. has conducted 20 airstrikes, including this latest this weekend where they “eliminated checkpoints and facilities used by al-Shabaab to collect illegal taxes to fund terrorist activities and to oppress” [Somali citizens], AFRICOM released in a different statement. Whenever and wherever the terrorists of al-Shabaab or ISIS begin to mass their forces, if U.S. intelligence spots them, then, they’re targeted.

Al-Shabaab (the Youth) began as the armed faction of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which later splintered into several smaller factions. This happened after al-Shabaab was defeated in 2006 by Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government.

In 2012, they announced their support for al-Qaeda. They believe in a very strict interpretation of sharia law. They ban most entertainment, such as films and music; the sale of khat, a narcotic plant that is often chewed, which is very popular in the area; smoking; and the shaving of beards. The punishment meted out is often of the stoning or amputation variety.

They try to block any humanitarian aid which forces the civilian populace to live in a near-starvation state and in fear. The U.S and many other countries have branded them a terrorist organization. Their recruitment is down due to defections, lack of pay for low-level fighters and airstrikes. However, due to large Somali faction living in the Minneapolis, MN area, they attracted dozens of recruits from there.

Al-Shabaab was responsible for a pair of bombings in Mogadishu that killed over 500 people in October 2017.

The terror organization wasn’t a big priority of the previous Obama administration and in 2016, the U.S. conducted just 16 airstrikes. Things began to change with the new Trump administration. Airstrikes more than doubled to 35 in 2017, including a large one that killed 100 fighters in October 2017 northwest of Mogadishu.

While the U.S. has waged mainly a proxy war against al-Shabaab, arming and training regional forces, the U.S. has 500 personnel in Somalia, which includes troops, civilians and contractors, mostly in an advisory role.

Photo: Wikipedia

Remembering Randy Shughart, MOH, Born on this Day 1958

Today we remember one of our most famous Special Operations warriors. Randy Shughart would have been 60 years old today. Shughart and Gary Gordon, both Delta Force operators and snipers died in Mogadishu, Somalia in October 1993 after being inserted alone into a crash site for a Blackhawk helicopter which had been shot down while raiding a headquarters of Somali militiamen headed by Mohamed Farrah Aidid.

With the aircrew killed and only the pilot, CWO Michael Durant badly wounded, the two Delta snipers held off hundreds of Somalis until they were both killed. Both Shughart and Gordon were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their selfless sacrifice, the first time it had been awarded since the Vietnam war.

Background: Shughart was born August 13, 1958, in Lincoln, Nebraska. His father Herbert was in the United States Air Force at that time. But his father would leave military service and move the family to Pennsylvania to work a dairy farm.

The younger Shughart graduated from high school in Newville, PA and immediately joined the Army in 1976 and was assigned to the 2nd Ranger Bn. at Ft. Lewis, Washington. After an initial four-year hitch, he left active duty in 1980 and went into the Army Reserve.

In December 1983, he returned to active duty and in 1984 attended and graduated the Special Forces Qualifications Course. The next year, he volunteered for and was selected for Delta Force, the Army’s premier counter-terrorist unit in 1986. He took part in Delta’s operations in Panama during Operation Just Cause in 1989-90.

Black Hawk Down: In 1993 the humanitarian situation in Somalia had reached a crisis situation. The United States, after having stood by and done nothing in the Rwanda crisis decided to act. Rival clan militias were destroying the country and killing hundreds of people. The worst of all perhaps was the clan of Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the Habr Gidr.

After years of indiscriminate killing, the Aidid militia was targeted by the U.S. In August of 1993, the Pentagon dispatched a task force from the Special Operations command consisting of Rangers from the 3rd Ranger Bn. Delta Force Operators and Special Operations Aviation from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. The operation, code-named Operation Gothic-Serpent would reach a head on October 3, 1993.

The task force received intelligence that Aidid’s warlords were meeting at a location in Mogadishu and the Task Force Commander, General Garrison ordered a raid consisting of Rangers and Delta operators and a convoy of 12 Humvees. The raid force would involve 19 aircraft and 160 personnel.

The operation was slated to take 30 minutes and capture Aidid’s foreign minister Omar Salad Elmi and his top political advisor, Mohamed Hassan Awale. While Delta operators would take down the target building, four groups of Rangers would fast rope into the perimeter and seal the target area until the convoy of vehicles would reach the objective, pick up the Rangers, Delta operators and captives and spirit everyone safely back to the airbase.

Immediately things went awry. One Ranger missed the rope and fell 70 feet to the ground, suffering severe head and neck injuries. The three-vehicle convoy to evacuate him back was badly shot up with one Ranger getting killed.

The convoy under LTC Danny McKnight was delayed as Somalis made impromptu roadblocks of burning tires and debris. Had the convoy had armored vehicles as Garrison had requested from the White House and was denied, they could have swept those aside easily.

The roadblocks would become an even bigger issue on the way back from the Olympia Hotel where the raid took place. Then the plan and operation went to hell in a matter of minutes.

A Blackhawk, callsign Super 61 was shot down with an RPG. Both pilots were killed, the crew chiefs severely injured. Two Delta snipers SSG Daniel Busch and SSG Jim Smith were defending the crash site. A “Little Bird” an MH-6 landed with the co-pilot getting out to help the now wounded Delta operators into their bird. A CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue bird, despite being hit with an RPG deposited a Delta and Air Force Pararescue team on the ground and moved the wounded crew chiefs to a secure location where they defended their position. That bird made it back to the base.

Twenty minutes later a third Black Hawk, callsign Super-64 piloted by CWO Mike Durant was clipped with an RPG. Seconds later he crashed. In another Black Hawk, Super-62, Delta snipers Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart asked permission twice to land to defend Durant’s crash site, which they could observe from the air. They were denied. However, on the third request, Garrison allowed them to go in. They knew what awaited them on the ground.

They could see a mob of hundreds, perhaps thousands of Somalis rushing the second crash site. A group of 90 Delta and Rangers were pinned down surrounding the first crash site and couldn’t make it to them. The two Delta men were on their own.

As they were taking off, Super-62 was raked by fire, an RPG blew the door gunner’s leg off and several crew members were wounded, the pilot had a bullet wound to his shoulder and his co-pilot was unconscious. Somehow the pilot CWO Mike Goffena made it safely back to the base.

Gordon and Shughart made it the crash site as the crowd was closing in. Despite being vastly outnumbered and outgunned, Durant was shocked at the coolness of the operators under fire.

In a later interview, he said, “They didn’t seem alarmed the situation that we were in. It was just focused on the task, doing what they needed to do to improve our situation, and get through it, get us rescued. Whatever it is they needed to do.”

Shughart and Gordon moved the crew members to a safer location and attempted to put a perimeter in place. Armed with just their sniper rifles and handguns, they were hopelessly outnumbered. They followed their training and slowly, meticulously picked off their targets. Gordon, cried out “Damn, I’m hit,” according to Durant and then heard nothing as Shughart moved to him.

Seconds later Shughart came to Durant and gave him Gordon’s CAR-15 and last magazine and uttered only two words, “good luck.” He then went back to his post with his M-21 sniper rifle and fought for another 10 minutes. Once he ran out of rifle ammunition, he fought on with his pistol until that too was out of ammo and he was killed.

The Somalis raced to the position and dragged the bodies out into the street and stripped them of their equipment and clothing and paraded them around in a frenzy of mob activity. Durant rarely escaped death when after being beaten by the mob, one of Aidid’s men decided he was worth more as a hostage and he was dragged away.

He was held for 11 days before he was released. He eventually recovered from his injuries and flew for another eight years until he retired in 2001.

Both Shughart and Gordon’s families were presented with the Medal of Honor on their behalf by President Clinton. Shughart’s father refused to shake the President’s hand and made some disparaging remarks about him to the press afterward.

Shughart’s body was eventually recovered and is buried in Westminster Cemetery, Carlisle, Pennsylvania with full military honors.

General Garrison took total responsibility for the raid, not pointing the finger at anyone other than himself. He moved over to the JFK Special Warfare Center until his retirement on August 1, 1996. At his retirement, several of the men from Delta came up to him prior to his ceremony and gave him the news that Aidid was dead. Killed the same day as Garrison retired. There were some wry smiles and handshakes that hot, North Carolina afternoon. Some hard feelings were still raw three years later.

Medal of Honor citation:
Citation:
Sergeant First Class Shughart, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as a Sniper Team Member, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Sergeant First Class Shughart provided precision sniper fires from the lead helicopter during an assault on a building and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade fires. While providing critical suppressive fires at the second crash site, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the site.

Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After their third request to be inserted, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader received permission to perform this volunteer mission.

When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader were inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Sergeant First Class Shughart, and his team leader, while under intense fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members.

Sergeant First Class Shughart pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Sergeant First Class Shughart used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers while traveling the perimeter, protecting the downed crew.

Sergeant First Class Shughart continued his protective fire until he depleted his ammunition and was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot’s life. Sergeant First Class Shughart’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.

Photos: US Army

Al-Shabab Getting “Lucky” Not Stronger in Somalia, Says US

Al-Shabab, Somalia’s most dangerous terror group is likely not getting any stronger according to U.S. officials. The U.S. contends that despite a series of deadly attacks, including one that claimed the life of a U.S. special operations soldier earlier this month, it was more lucky than good during that attack.
The assessment, by U.S. military and counterintelligence officials, runs contrary to the conclusions of some analysts and comes as al-Shabab has been flexing its military might in recent weeks, highlighting attacks on both Somali and African Union forces.
One of the most publicized of these was a brazen June 8 attack on an outpost under construction two kilometers north of the town of Sanguni, in the Lower Jubba region of Somalia.
The al-Qaida-linked militants skirmished with a force of 800 Somali and Kenyan forces accompanied by U.S. special operations soldiers, one of whom was killed by mortar fire.
U.S. officials are still trying to determine the size of the al-Shabab force at the time of the attack but say there is no indication of any increased capability.
“It was a lucky shot,” a U.S. military official told VOA on condition of anonymity. “I wouldn’t consider this a well-executed attack.”
Another military official said, in many ways, the deadly attack was typical of al-Shabab operations.
“Historically, al-Shabab has been willing to engage large forces, often using surprise and asymmetric tactics to improve their chances for success,” said Lt. Cmdr. Desiree Frame, a spokesperson for U.S. Africa Command. “We expect to see more conflict in southern Somalia as Somali Government Forces, AMISOM, and their partners make in-roads into al-Shabab-held territory.”
Still, some analysts warn it is wrong to downplay the strides al-Shabab has made since being kicked out of its last urban stronghold, the port city of Kismayo, in 2012.
“It’s clear that we’re not just seeing a spike in attacks related to the Ramadan campaign,” said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior analyst at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “It’s clear that the organization has gotten stronger.”

Regardless of the differing opinions on their capability, al-Shabab will probably be seeing plenty of focus from the US-led coalition in Somalia in the coming days.

To read the entire article from Voice of America News, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

US Airstrikes Kill 27 al-Shabab Militants in Somalia

United States military airstrikes in northern Somalia have killed at least 27 members of the militant al-Shabab organization according to military officials. The several drone strikes against the militants are the second strike the U.S. has conducted in the past week.

The statement issued Monday by the U.S. Africa Command said it assesses that no civilians were killed in the attack on Sunday about 26 miles southwest of Bosasso, the commercial capital of the semiautonomous Puntland state.
The area has recently seen attacks on local forces by extremists aligned with the Islamic State group.
The Trump administration approved expanded military operations against extremists in Somalia, including al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaida and was blamed for the truck bombing in Mogadishu in October that killed more than 500 people.
And elsewhere in Somalia, at least 10 people were killed on Tuesday morning when Al-Shabaab and government clashed in the Gedo region town of Bardheere, Radio Dalsan reports. Two government soldiers and eight militants were killed in the fighting according to an official of Gedo region. Al-Shabaab had attempted to overrun the Bardheere Military camp but failed to succeed in executing the attack.
SNA displayed a captured militant.
The Al-qaeda linked group has intensified its activities since last Friday when they attacked the Hiraan region’s Moqokori town where it claimed tens of SNA soldiers were killed. The group displayed bodies purported to be government soldiers. The town was recaptured on Saturday.
On the same day in Puntland’s Balikhadar area the militants attacked a military camp killing 5 soldiers. Local authority said at least 40 militants were killed later including 27 in a US airstrike.

AFRICOM said that none of the strikes were assessed to have caused civilian casualties and that the strikes were carried out in coordination with the US-backed Federal Government of Somalia.

To read the entire article from AllAfrica, click here:

Photo courtesy DOD

Hometown of “Black Hawk Down” MOH Operator To Plan Memorial

The town of Lincoln, Maine is teaming with the Special Forces Charitable Trust to build a memorial dedicated to the men who died in Somalia in 1993.

Master Sgt. Gary Gordon and Sgt. 1st Class Randall Shughart were forever immortalized when they made the fateful decision to stay and fight, defending the injured soldiers at the site of a crashed U.S. military helicopter in Mogadishu in October 1993.
Nearly 25 years later, officials want to memorialize the two soldiers and the other 17 troops who were killed during Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia with a new memorial in Gordon’s hometown.
Gordon and Shughart served with the Fort Bragg-based 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, better known as Delta Force. They volunteered to protect the crash site and fought off attackers until they ran out of ammunition.
They were posthumously awarded the nation’s highest combat decoration, the Medal of Honor, for their efforts to protect the lives of American troops while sacrificing their own during a battle that has become known as “Black Hawk Down” thanks to a popular book and movie by the same name.
The pair are also the namesake of schools on Fort Bragg.
In June, the Special Forces Charitable Trust and Master Sgt. Gary Gordon Medal of Honor Memorial Fund will team up in Gordon’s hometown of Lincoln, Maine, for a memorial 5k run/walk aimed at raising money for a new memorial that will include a full-size bronze statue of Gordon on a five-foot granite base that will feature his Medal of Honor citation and the names of all of the American soldiers killed in Somalia in 1993.
The memorial, once complete, will be the only one of its kind that honors all of the soldiers lost in Mogadishu in 1993, according to officials.
It will be placed in a Veterans’ Park in Lincoln. It will be created by artist Douwe Blumberg, who also created the Horse Soldier monument in New York City and the Nevada State Veterans Memorial in Las Vegas.

The planned 5K race will take place in Lincoln, however, if anyone who would like to donate and run the race on their own, they can register online and even receive a finisher’s medal.

For more information and any questions about this event or the planned memorial, go to specialforcescharitabletrust.org/upcoming-events/.

To read the entire article from Fayetteville Observer, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Casualty Toll In Somalia Conflict Rises to 4500 in Somalia Since 2016

The United Nations Human Rights Office and the U.N. Assistance Mission in Somalia have said that more than 4,500 civilians have been killed or wounded in the conflict in Somalia since the start of 2016. And their report has pointed the finger at the guilty parties responsible for the majority of the violence plaguing the country.

In the report, covering a period from January 1, 2016, until October 14, 2017, UNSOM documented 2,078 civilian deaths and 2,507 injuries. The worst perpetrators of the killings against civilians are the al-Shabab militant group that is responsible for more 60 percent of the casualties according to the report. About a quarter of the death toll comes from the October 14 truck in Mogadishu where a special committee tasked to investigate the incident reported that 512 people were killed and more than 300 others were injured. Al-Shabab has been blamed for the attack.

“They are by far the worst when it comes to activities that kill civilians in conflict,” said U.N. Special Envoy to Somalia Michael Keating. “Of the incidents attributable to al-Shabab, 79 percent are as a result of the use of IEDs [improvised explosive devices] whether they are vehicle borne or otherwise.”.
The report says clan militias are responsible for 13 percent of the casualties, while state actors, including the army and the police, are responsible for 11 percent. The report says the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) is responsible for four percent. A further 12 percent of the casualties was caused by unidentified or undetermined attackers, the report said.

The U.N. reports that the citizens of Somalia are the ones paying the price for the government failing to address the issues of the country by political means. And that child endangerment is rising sharply with thousands of cases of child-recruitment with the vast majority of those being blamed on al-Shabab.

To read the entire article from The Voice of America click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

US Denies Special Operations Soldiers Killed Somali Citizens in August

AFRICOM, the United States’ command in Africa, has disputed claims that Special Operations soldiers killed any civilian during a raid conducted in August. The PAO office for the command released a statement on Wednesday, which was the first public statement concerning the allegations that first surfaced in the Daily Beast.

AFRICOM’s two-paragraph statement referred to a joint raid by U.S. and Somali troops on the village of Bariire and claimed that those killed were enemy combatants from the al Shabab terror network which is affiliated with al-Qaeda. However, eyewitnesses told the press that there were 10 civilians were killed.

The survivors and relatives of the dead said they wanted blood money and an apology.
“After a thorough assessment of the Somali National Army-led operation near Bariire, Somalia, on Aug. 25, 2017, and the associated allegations of civilian casualties, U.S. Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAF) has concluded that the only casualties were those of armed enemy combatants,” the two paragraph statement read.
“Before conducting operations with partner forces, SOCAF conducts detailed planning and coordination to reduce the likelihood of civilian casualties and to ensure compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict. U.S. Africa Command and the Department of Defense take allegations of civilian casualties very seriously.”
Despite promising a public investigation, the embattled Somali government has made no public statement on the raid, and some Somali security officials said privately that it would not, for fear of alienating the powerful clan whose members were killed.

The US has been stepping up its presence in Somalia and Africa as a whole. A Navy SEAL was killed in Somalia earlier this year, the first US combat death in the country since the “Black Hawk Down” battle in Mogadishu in October 1993.

To read the entire article from The Voice of America click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

US Conducts First Airstrikes Against ISIS in Somalia

Fighters for the Islamic State will no longer have free rein in Somalia, as the US pounded ISIS fighters in two separate airstrikes. The attacks were a first for the US military in the country where the terrorist group is an attempt to grow their influence. ISIS now joins al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group as threats to the region.

The Somali government coordinated with the US through the AFRICOM joint command for the two drone strikes which killed several terrorists in Northeast Somalia according to official sources. The strikes took place around midnight and later on Friday morning.

Local officials confirmed the strikes. At least six missiles struck in Buqa, a remote mountainous village roughly 37 miles north of Qandala town in the northern state of Puntland, a Somali security official told The Associated Press.
The airstrike may have targeted top leaders of the group, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The mayor of Qandala, Jama Mohamed, said the strikes sent terrified nomadic villagers and their animals fleeing.
But ISIS-linked fighters who have split from the Somalia-based al-Shabab pose a growing threat in Puntland.
In May, The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing in Puntland — said to be the first time the extremist group had claimed an attack in the Horn of Africa nation. Police said a suicide bomber detonated at a military checkpoint in the commercial hub of Bossaso, killing at least four people.

The United States military has hit al-Shabab with roughly a dozen air strikes this year since the Trump Administration authorized strikes against it. The terrorist group recently carried out a deadly truck bombing in Mogadishu that killed more than 350 people.

To read the entire article from USA Today click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

On this Day, October 3, 1993, Battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down)

Today we remember the men of Operation Gothic Serpent who fought and died on the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia in what later became popularly known from the title of a book and film as “Black Hawk Down”

The operation was run by the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and was commanded by General William F. Garrison. They organized for this mission as Task Force Ranger and It consisted of various special operations units from Army, Air Force, and Navy Special Operations Forces:

B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment under the command of Captain Michael D. Steele
C Squadron, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D) under the command of Lt Col Gary L. Harrell
A deployment package of 16 helicopters and personnel from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (160th SOAR), which included MH-60 Black Hawks and AH/MH-6 Little Birds.
Navy SEALs from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU)
Air Force Pararescuemen and Combat Controllers from the 24th Special Tactics Squadron.

Their mission on October 3, was to plan and conduct an operation to move to the center of Mogadishu with the aim of capturing the leaders of the Habr Gidr clan, led by Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Included in that were Aidid’s foreign minister Omar Salad Elmi and his top political advisor, Mohamed Hassan Awale The assault force consisted of nineteen aircraft, twelve vehicles (including nine Humvees), and 160 men. The operation was intended to last no longer than one hour. In the end, it would last much longer.

Michael Durant’s helicopter over Mogadishu.

The plan was that Delta operators would assault the target building (using MH-6 Little Bird helicopters) and secure the targets inside the building while four Ranger chalks (under CPT Michael D. Steele’s command) would fast rope down from MH-60L Black Hawk helicopters. The Rangers would secure the defensive perimeter around the target building to isolate it and ensure that no members of Aidid’s militia could get in or out. Meanwhile, a column of nine HMMWVs and three M939 five-ton trucks (under LTC Danny McKnight’s command) would arrive at the building to take the entire assault team and their prisoners back to base. The entire operation was estimated to take no longer than 30 minutes.

At 1542 hours the assault began, and immediately things began to go wrong. The Little Bird helicopters that put the Delta operators on the ground kicked up so much dust that one of them was forced to go around and land out of position.

The Rangers were supposed to fast rope on all four corners of the target building, but Chalk Four was put down a block north of the target and was attempting to move on foot to the target when heavy ground fire prevented their linkup.

One of the Rangers from Chalk Four, PFC Todd Blackburn fell off the rope and suffered serious back and neck injuries and required immediate evacuation. Three Humvees were assigned to the task and en route back to the base came under heavy fire. SGT Dominick Pilla was killed instantly with a bullet wound to the head.

First Black Hawk Shot Down: At approximately 16:20, Black Hawk callsign Super 61 piloted by CW3 Cliff “Elvis” Wolcott and CW3 Donovan Briley, was shot down by an RPG. Both pilots were killed instantly in the crash and two of the crew chiefs were severely wounded. SSG Daniel Busch and SSG Jim Smith, both Delta snipers, survived and set up a defense around the downed bird.

A Little Bird, callsign Star 41 and piloted by CW3 Karl Maier and CW5 Keith Jones, landed nearby and Jones left the helicopter and carried Busch to the safety of the helicopter while Maier provided cover fire from the Little Bird’s cockpit, repeatedly denying orders to lift off while his co-pilot was not in the Bird. Star 41 evacuated SSG Busch and SGT Smith, though SSG Busch later died of his injuries, being shot four times while defending the crash site.

A Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) team in Black Hawk Super 68, led by Air Force Pararescueman TSgt Scott Fales, fast-roped down to Super 61’s crash site and immediately set up a triage for the wounded crew chiefs. Both pilots were dead, the CSAR team moved the wounded to a better defensible point and used the kevlar armor salvaged from Super 61 to protect the wound. Super 68 then suffered an RPG hit that severely damaged the helicopter and they peeled off. Although badly damaged, Super 68 made it safely back to the base.

Confusion reigned as both the ground and assault teams were under the impression that they were waiting for the other to give the call to exfil and 20 valuable minutes were lost. That’s when all hell broke loose.

Super 64 Shot Down, Gordon and Shughart Defend the Crash Site: It was during this time at 1640 hrs when Black Hawk Super 64 piloted by CW3 Mike Durant was hit by an RPG and crashed. Durant was the only survivor. Operating overhead in Black Hawk Super 62 were Delta snipers SFC Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shughart who twice requested to be put down on the Super 64 crash site and were refused. On the third request, they put down and secured Durant and moved him to the edge of a building.

Super 62 stayed overhead providing fire support until they too were hit by an RPG. The Black Hawk was forced to return to the base. The two Delta snipers were alone.

During this time a force of about 90 Delta operators and Rangers reached the first crash site. Taking murderous fire, they were pinned down in the building around the crash site and were unable to move. During the movement to the site, Delta operator SFC Earl Fillmore was killed. One of the Rangers, CPL Jamie Smith was killed soon after arriving to the crash site in the firefight with Aidid’s militia.

Gordon and Shughart kept a large mob of militia at bay inflicting heavy casualties on them. But there were too many and they soon engulfed. Gordon was killed by enemy fire. Shughart crawled back to Durant and gave him Gordon’s rifle. He then went to the front of the helicopter and held off the mob for another 10 minutes. Then out of ammunition he too was killed. Durant was beaten badly but survived and taken prisoner. Both Gordon and Shughart would be awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions on that day.

The convoy under McKnight was being directed by LTC Harrell who was in the air to the crash site, but the roadblocks set up by the Somali citizens and militia in addition to the heavy fire were keeping the Humvees from finding the location. Increasingly lost in the maze of narrow streets and not getting the timely directions from above were taking a toll. McKnight’s crew became known as the Lost Convoy. If they had any kind of armored vehicles, the roadblocks could have easily been swept aside.

Earl Fillmore, Delta Operator killed en route to the first crash site. (photo: Kevin McCaffrey)

Four Rangers, CPL Jamie Smith, SP4 James Cavaco, SGT James Joyce, and SGT Richard Kowalewski were killed on the Lost Convoy. Delta Operator SFC Grizz Martin and Ranger SGT Lorenzo Ruiz were both mortally wounded and died in Germany of their wounds.

Relief Convoy: Garrison put together an ad-hoc relief convoy consisting of Task Force 2–14 Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, accompanied by Malaysian and Pakistani U.N. forces. The convoy had over 100 vehicles including M-48 Pakistani tanks, Condor Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), as well as Cobra gunships assigned to the 10th Mountain Division.

They reached the embattled troops around 0200 on October 4th. Two men of the 10th Mountain would be killed during the relief convoy operation as well as two Malaysian soldiers and a Pakistani.

When the vehicles were loaded at the Super 61 site, there wasn’t room for all of the men to ride. There a mixture of Delta operators and Rangers began what was characterized as the Mogadishu Mile. They had to exfil on foot. One soldier was hit by gunfire but survived. All of the troops reached the UN base by 0630 on October 4.

On October 6, a Delta operator, SFC Matt Rierson was killed by a stray mortar shell that landed on the base.

Aftermath: The US suffered 19 killed and 73 wounded during the battle. Somali casualties differ widely depending on the source but were anywhere between 350-1000 dead and another 1000+ wounded. Durant was released 11 days later. The Somalis would drag the dead of Super 64’s crew as well as Gordon and Shughart thru the streets of Mogadishu for the next several days. Eventually, their bodies were recovered.

Footnote: General Garrison accepted full responsibility for the mission and ended his career as the Commander of the USAJFKSWC. He retired on August 1, 1996. As this ceremony was about to commence, a large number of Delta operators in civilian clothes came, many of those who were there in Mogadishu, to give the General a nice sendoff.

They informed him that Aidid had been killed earlier that day. There were big smiles and high fives all around…

Photos courtesy: US Army unless otherwise noted.