The Somali National Army in coordination with the Turkish Armed Forces conducted a series of airstrikes in the Godey area of southern Somalia on Tuesday, killing 35 al-Shabaab militants, the Ministry of Defense said.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the ministry said the strikes targeted “caves, weapons caches and hideouts used by Al-Shabaab terrorists” and were followed by “a series of large secondary explosions,” which the ministry said indicated the presence of “weapons stockpiles, explosive materials and enemy military supplies.”
“The site was also occupied by militants and vehicles loaded with explosives that had been prepared for use in terrorist attacks against Somalia,” the ministry said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
The ministry said the joint strikes also injured 20 other militants, specifically targeting the group’s network of caves, weapons caches, and hideouts. The operation is among the clearest public acknowledgments of the operational use of Turkish F-16s in Somalia.
Reports that Türkiye had deployed the fighter jets first emerged in late January 2026, when Turkish officials told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that F-16 aircraft had been sent to Somalia and would be operated by the Turkish military contingent stationed in the country as Ankara expanded its military footprint in the Horn of Africa.
The deployment was further confirmed in April after months of infrastructure upgrades at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport, including the construction of specialized hangars and maintenance facilities to support the aircraft. The move marked a significant expansion of Türkiye’s military assistance to Somalia’s federal government as it sought to strengthen territorial control and intensify operations against Al-Shabaab.
Türkiye has become one of Somalia’s closest security partners, providing extensive military training, equipment, and economic assistance to the federal government as it continues its campaign against the Al-Qaeda-linked militant group.
MG/abj/APA