A seven-year-old boy, Abdiqadir Salah, who was riddled with shrapnel during a deadly US airstrike in Somalia, risks losing his ability to walk unless he receives an emergency operation costing £750.

His family cannot afford the surgery, and the US, which refuses to admit any civilian casualties from the attack six months ago, appears unwilling to pay compensation to those affected by airstrikes in Somalia.

Shrapnel is lodged in two places in Abdiqadir's back and in his upper thigh after US airstrikes that killed at least 12 civilians, including eight children. It is the deadliest attack on civilians in Somalia during either Trump administration.

A Guardian investigation into the strikes in Jamaame raises questions over US intelligence, target selection, and why children were hit while in the open, likely identifiable to the drone's strike team.

The boy's mother, Marian Haji Abdi Guled, said Abdiqadir was struck while outside their home. Three of her children were wounded. She fled with them to the countryside, fearing further drone attacks.

Doctors at Kaafi hospital in Mogadishu told her the shrapnel must be urgently removed to avoid life-changing consequences. However, the family lacks the $1,000 needed for the operation and cannot save due to high rent in the capital.

The US has not paid compensation to any Somali civilians injured or killed in airstrikes. Under the Trump administration, the Pentagon scrapped a program requiring prevention and response to civilian deaths.

Source: www.theguardian.com