Turkish F-16 fighter jets carried out an airstrike on targets belonging to Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia on Tuesday. According to the Somali Ministry of Defense, approximately 35 militants were killed in the operation.
The strike took place in the Goday area of the strategic Lower Shabelle region, south of the capital Mogadishu. The ministry stated that the warplanes targeted caves, weapons depots, and hideouts used by Al-Shabaab.
The ministry statement said, "The Somali National Army, with the support of the armed forces of the Republic of Turkey, carried out airstrikes this morning using F-16 fighter jets." The ministry noted that large explosions occurred in the targeted area and that the site was used as a storage depot for weapons, explosives, and military equipment.
While the initial statement published on the Somali Ministry of Defense's Instagram account directly referenced "Turkish F-16s," the version later added to the ministry's website changed this to "international partners." The change is assessed to be aimed at softening domestic and regional reactions to Ankara's growing military presence in Somalia.
The presence of Turkish F-16s in Somalia has been publicly known since January. Turkey trains the Somali army at its largest overseas military base in Mogadishu. The recent sighting of Turkish tanks and other military vehicles on Somali streets is expanding the operational dimension of this role.
Turkey's growing military engagement is also criticized by opponents of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Opponents argue that the federal government is using Turkish support to consolidate its own power.
Regional rivalry has also added a new dimension to Ankara's presence in Somalia. Last December, Israel announced it recognized Somaliland, Somalia's breakaway region, while Turkey soon after declared Somalia's territorial integrity a national security priority.
Somalia serves as a springboard for Turkey's outreach in the Horn of Africa. In addition to military cooperation, under agreements signed between the two countries in 2024, Turkey is conducting oil and natural gas exploration in three offshore blocks off Somalia this year. Ankara is also building its first overseas spaceport on Somalia's Indian Ocean coast to support satellite launches and missile tests.
