Somalia raid assisted by foreign troops targets Al-Shabaab

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The National Intelligence Security Agency [NISA] has killed at least 18 Al-Shabaab fighters with assistance from foreign troops, state media reported, just the US Africa Command announced neutralizing over 12 Al-Shabaab militants in Hobyo, within Galmuug stat on February 10th.

For the last six months, Somali security forces with assistance from the US Africa Command, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] troops, and local militia, have been pursuing Al-Shabaab militants on all fronts and even managed to liberate several strategic towns.

The state media said Sunday's success was registered in Sabiid area within the suburbs of Afgoye, 30 kilometers North West of the capital Mogadishu. The NISA team rarely participates in the Al-Shabaab crackdown but is often involved during sophisticated operations that require their expertise.

NISA, an agency responsible for intelligence gathering, is not popular within the Somali National Army circles given its past record of torturing innocent civilians and members of the opposition. But since the election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, all security agencies have cooperated well in the Al-Shabaab war.

The US Africa Command has on the other hand intensified operations in Somalia since their reinstatement in June 2022, slightly after a year of absence. This year alone, the Command which operates from Djibouti and Balidogle Army training base has managed to kill over 50 Al-Shabaab militants.

In 2021, former US President Donald Trump withdrew tactically from Somalia as a strategy for the cost-cutting measure but his successor, President Joe Biden authorized the redeployment of American troops to the troubled Horn of Africa nation. The Al-Shabaab extortionists have been neutralized on several fronts.

The Somali National Army is projecting that by the end of 2023, most parts of the country would have been liberated from Al-Shabaab. To further frustrate the militants, the government is targeting their financial outlets, and already, over 250 bank accounts and 70 mobile money transfer firms have been closed in Somalia.

Al-Shabaab is believed to be collecting over $100 million annually with $24 million diverted toward purchasing weapons from war-torn Yemen. But President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has vowed to minimize the group's access to revenue and has even threatened business owners from remitting taxes to the militants.