Senior officials injured in Al-Shabaab attack in Somalia

Two senior security officials in Somalia were seriously injured in a suspected Al-Shabaab attack in Somalia, with the national army and international partners increasing the intensity of Al-Shabaab raids across the Horn of Africa nation, which has been unstable for three decades.

Al-Shabaab militants have often targeted security officers, senior government officials, and innocent civilians in their cowardly attacks. But in most cases, security officers are the major target given the role they play in flushing out the militants.

Shaafi Abdi Jama, the Deputy Commission of Guriel District, and Osman Hudeey, the Commander of the police station, were injured in an attack that targeted Barujereed in Galgaduud, a region that has been prone to numerous Al-Shabaab attacks for the last 16 years.

It is in Galgaduud that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visited recently to encourage soldiers to intensify attacks against the militants, who control large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia. The militants have been under onslaught for the last couple of months across Somalia.

Multiple reports indicate that the two were part of the reinforcement team dispatched to salvage their colleagues who were under attack in a nearby Forward Operating Base. The Al-Shabaab militants usually attack military bases in the country as part of their strategy to destroy military hardware and kill innocent civilians.

Farah Abdi Moalim, the Guriel District Commissioner told reporters that the attack on the army base was successfully repulsed despite security officers suffering injuries in the process. The Al-Shabaab suffered immense losses in the process, authorities reported.

Further reports indicate that the attack occurred about two days after the Ministry of Information and Tourism confirmed that the Somali National Army with the help of partners raided Shabellow forest within the Mudug region, killing over 20 Al-Shabaab militants in the process.

The Al-Shabaab militants are on the receiving end across the country following the activation of military operations in central and southern parts according to reports. The militants have lost significantly on all frontlines despite registering a few successes in the process.

GAROWE ONLINE