American military intervention in Somalia (2007–present)

American military intervention in Somalia
	Part of War on Terror ; Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa during the Somali Civil War
	; MQ-9 Reaper drone, commonly used over Somalia by U.S. forces.
Date	January 7, 2007 – ongoing
Location	Somalia
Status	Ongoing Hundreds of drone strikes targeting the terrorist group al-Shabaab.; Raids against al-Shabaab militants conducted by U.S. Special Operations Forces.; African Union Intervention.; U.S. backed Ethiopian invasion in 2006.; Kenyan intervention.; Newly formed federal government established in 2012.; Power struggle within al-Shabaab.; Majority of US Troops withdraw in January 2021.; US airstrikes against al-Shabaab in 2022.; Redeployment of US troops in Somalia in 2022.; Death of Islamic State in Somalia leader, Bilal al-Sudani on January 25, 2023.; Approximately 450 U.S. troops remain in Somalia as of June 2023.;
Belligerents
United States U.S. Army; U.S. Marine Corps; U.S. Air Force; U.S. Navy; CIA; In support of: Somalia; ATMIS (since 2022) Burundi ; Djibouti ; Ethiopia ; Kenya ; Uganda; AMISOM (until 2022) Burundi ; Djibouti (from 2011) ; Ethiopia (from 2006) ; Ghana ; Kenya (from 2011, officially from 2012) ; Nigeria (from 2010) ; Sierra Leone (from 2013) ; Uganda (until 2017);	al-Shabaab; Al-Qaeda; Allegedly support:; Iran Hizbul Islam (until 2009–10; 2012–14); Islamic State in Somalia;
Commanders and leaders
Joe Biden (2021–present) ; Lapthe Flora (2020–present) ; Donald Trump (2017–2021) ; Barack Obama (2009–2017) ; George W. Bush (2007-2009)	Ahmad Umar; (Emir of al-Shabaab); Fuad Qalaf (former); Abu Mansur ; Moktar Ali Zubeyr †; Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki ; Mohamed Said Atom ; Ibrahim Haji Jama Mee'aad ; Hassan Dahir Aweys ; Omar Iman (former); Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki †; Abu Musa Mombasa (former); Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan †; Fazul Abdullah Mohammed † Sheikh Abdul Qadir Mumin; (leader of ISS); Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi; (ISIL caliph since 2022); Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi †; (ISIL caliph 2022); Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi †; (ISIL caliph 2019–2022); Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi †; (ISIL caliph until 2019); Mahad Maalin †; (ISS deputy); Abdihakim Mohamed Ibrahim ("Dhoqob") †; (ISS deputy)
Strength
600 personnel (Sept. 2020)	Al-Shabaab: 7,000–9,000 fighters (Dec 2017)
Casualties and losses
3 service members killed; 2 contractors killed; 1 CIA paramilitary officer killed; 5 wounded; 5 aircraft destroyed; 1 aircraft damaged; 2 Oshkosh M-ATV; several fuel tanker destroyed	575+ killed (2017–18); 116 militants killed (2019) (per AFRICOM); 1,372–1,670 militants killed (per New America); 1,185–1,313 militants killed (per The Bureau of Investigative Journalism)
	34–113 civilians killed (per New America); 12–97 civilians killed (per The Bureau of Investigative Journalism); 22 Galmudug soldiers mistakenly killed; 78–153 civilians killed (per Airwars)

The United States has militarily supported the Transitional Federal Government and the Federal Government of Somalia in conflicts in Somalia since the early 2000's. U.S. military actions in Somalia date back to the 1980s, however following the September 11th attacks, military action was justified as counterterrorism. The Obama administration and the Trump administration conducted drone and fighter aircraft strikes, advisory missions, 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.

Robert Moore, a public policy advisor, has highlighted a number of justifications advanced by proponents of US intervention in Somalia, including the 2001 AUMF which authorizes the President to use force against the perpetrators of the September 11th attacks and their allies (al-Shabbab declared an alliance with al-Qaeda in 2012). The belief that military force should be used for humanitarian purposes, especially in mass-casualty conflicts (a doctrine known as Responsibility to Protect) is also cited, with the argument being made that international intervention could have prevented much of the bloodshed of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. Moore is critical of these justifications.

In late 2020, US President Donald Trump announced that he would pull most US troops out of Somalia by 15 January 2021. On 17 January 2021, the Department of Defense announced that it had completed its troop withdrawal. However, it has continued training allied forces, made use of limited airstrikes, and special operations.

In May 2022, according to a government spokesman, President Joe Biden accepted a request from the Department of Defense to redeploy US soldiers to Somalia to combat the al-Shabaab insurgents.

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