Main content
The story behind Black Hawk Down
In 1993, US forces were part of a UN mission to end the civil war and humanitarian crisis in Somalia. In October of that year, elite American troops launched a disastrous raid in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Their mission's aim was to capture key allies of the powerful Somali warlord, General Mohamed Farah Aideed. But US forces met fierce resistance from Aideed鈥檚 militia. Two US Black Hawk Helicopters were shot down. In the ensuing battle, hundreds of Somalis were estimated to have died. 18 Americans and two UN soldiers were killed.
Abdulaziz Ali Ibrahim was working with the UN in Somalia at the time and lived in a house 700 yards away from the site of the first helicopter crash.
Photo credit: ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty Images
