Somalia military raid leaves senior Al-Shabaab leaders dead

MOGADISHU, Somalia - At least two senior Al-Shabaab leaders were killed on Wednesday following a raid engineered by the Somali National Army [SNA] and international partners, with the military keen to dislodge the terrorists from strategic towns across the Horn of Africa nation.

While the government did not confirm the teams that participated in the raid, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] and the US Africa Command have been working closely in the fight against Al-Shabaab, making tremendous gains in all battlefronts according to reports.

State media identifies those who were killed during Wednesday's raid as Farah Yare, a senior Al-Shabaab commander, and Mohamed Hassan Kadiye, an elder who has been closely working with the Al-Shabaab militants. The raid was conducted in Lower Shabelle, authorities confirmed.

"Somali security forces with the support of International allies killed five Al-Shabaab fighters in a raid near Raydabley in Lower Shabelle. The slain terrorists included Farah Yare, a senior commander, and Mohamud Hassan Kadiye [Biriq], a clan leader who was responsible for the extortion of villagers," state media reported.

During the past two months, the national army with the help of international partners has managed to kill over 1,650 Al-Shabaab militants across the country, with 550 others left with life-threatening injuries, the government said in a statement. The claim, however, could not be independently confirmed.

Elsewhere, the government has announced the names, positions, and status of key Al-Shabaab leaders who were targeted in recent operations in Galmudug and Hirshabelle states. The operations, which involved direct confrontations and precision airstrikes, have eliminated 19 high-ranking terrorists who threatened national stability.

Somalia requested for technical pause of withdrawal of African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] troops for three months, in a request tabled at the United Nations Security Council. The move, senior government officials said, will allow the national army to adequately prepare as they take over security responsibilities from the foreign troops.

Al-Shabaab militants are fighting to topple the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia, whose stability has been questionable for a while. Besides military offensives, the government is also targeting Al-Shabaab Financiers across the country as a strategy to ground their operations.

GAROWE ONLINE