US and Somali troops attacked the farming village of Barire early Friday morning, capturing a group of ten civilians and summarily executing them one at a time. Locals brought the bodies, including three children, to the capital of Mogadishu to protest the incident.

Deputy Governor of Lower Shabelle Ali Nur Mohammed blamed the US forces, saying that they rounded up the farmers working in the fields, then “one by one” shot them, saying that all the slain were unarmed civilians.

US African Command confirmed that US troops were “supporting” the Somali operation, but offered no details. They confirmed being aware of reports of civilians being killed and promised an “assessment” of the matter.

The Somali government, as usual, denied the incident took place, despite there being a number of bodies of women and children on display in Mogadishu. They insisted that officially everyone killed was a member of al-Shabaab.