Al-Shabaab morning bombing in Somalia leaves several dead

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Al-Shabaab has waged yet another attack on Tuesday morning in the suburbs of Bandhere town, multiple eyewitnesses reported, in what could be a revenge mission after having suffered several defeats across the country as Somalia heightened operations against the group.

For the last seven months, the Somali National Army [SNA] with the help of the US Africa Command, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] and local militia, has been fighting the militants in their strongholds, recovering many strategic towns in the process according to the government.

According to reports, the militants struck Bandhere town on Tuesday leaving quite a number of people dead and wounded Gedo governor Ahmed Bulle Gared and a military official named colonel Ahmed Abdullahi.

The government is yet to confirm the number of casualties but the Al-Shabaab has been targeting innocent civilians, members of security forces, and senior government officials in their cowardly attacks.

The Al-Shabaab militant group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing attack in the town, early Tuesday morning without giving many details about the raid which comes at the time Somalia is determined to crush them. Usually, the group gives a contradicting number of casualties from those given by security forces.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had declared total war against Al-Shabaab leading to ongoing operations in several front lines across Somalia and already, over 600 militants have been killed and several others wounded in the operation. The government projects that by December 2023, the group would have been completely eliminated.

Besides the military operations, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has also invested in ideological tactics where the clerics are used to denounce violent extremism. Religious leaders have been condemning recruitment to Al-Shabaab across Somalia and their approach has reportedly worked according to the government.

Also targeted are Al-Shabaab's revenue sources which have been giving the group up to $130 million annually, of which $24 million goes to the purchase of weapons. The government has also warned rogue business people of the possibility of losing licenses should they be found culpable of remitting taxes to Al-Shabaab.

The group's fortunes could further dwindle after frontline nations led by Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti agreed to send more soldiers to the country to join their colleagues in ATMIS for the battle. Already, Ethiopia has dispatched over 1000 additional troops to the country who are now fighting the militants.

GAROWE ONLINE