Senior Al-Shabab leader with $5 million U.S. bounty killed in Somalia strike

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government said Thursday evening that a planned airstrike carried out on Dec. 10 in the town of Jilib, in the Middle Juba region, killed two senior leaders of the al-Shabab militant group, including a bomb-making chief wanted by the United States.

In a statement, the National Intelligence and Security Agency, known as NISA, said the strike killed Abdullahi Osman Mohamed, also known as Engineer Ismail, whom it described as al-Shabab’s chief explosives planner. The U.S. government had placed a $5 million bounty on his head.

Also killed was Abdirahman Mohamed Hersi, known as Qoorleex, whom NISA identified as a key regional coordinator and a senior figure involved in the group’s media and propaganda operations.

NISA said the “precision operation,” conducted with support from international partners, was aimed at dismantling al-Shabab’s command, intelligence, and misinformation networks as the government continues its long-running campaign against the al-Qaida-linked group.

Al-Shabab, which controls parts of central and southern Somalia, has carried out frequent bombings and assassinations targeting government officials, security forces, and civilians in Mogadishu and elsewhere.

The Somali government has intensified military operations against the group in recent years, relying on local militias, national forces, and international partners to weaken its leadership and operational capacity.

GAROWE ONLINE