The wife of the leader of ISIS branch in Somalia sentenced to jail terms

A spouse of the leader of an ISIS-linked faction in Somalia leader Abdulkadir Mumin was on Monday sentenced by the military court sitting in Mogadishu, in the latest turnout of events which is positive in the fight against violent extremism in the country which has been struggling with instability for over three decades.

Fartun Abdirashid Hussein was on Monday slapped with eight years in prison, in one of the most dramatic cases in the history of Somalia. The military court is one of the most efficient justice delivery systems in Somalia due to the absence of robust civilian courts.

Using aliases Fa'iso, Asiyo, and Faysa, the wife of the notorious militant was arrested in March 2022 and has been facing trial in the military court. Among others, she is accused of facilitating the group's finances besides being a lifetime member who monitors progress in the group.

Police reports indicate that she was arrested in Hilwaa District in the suburbs of the capital Mogadishu, and has since been battling to clear her tainted name. Her husband, Mumin, is a former UK-based theological leader according to court records, and was one of the pioneer members of IS-Somalia.

Sources within security apparatus in Somalia hinted that she had a smooth working relationship with IS-Somalia commander Bilal al-Sudani was killed last week following an airstrike by the US Africa Command. The command killed al-Sudani on Thursday last week and publicly announced the success.

"From a mountainous cave complex in northern Somalia, Bilal al-Sudani is assessed to have supported ISIS' expansion and activities across Africa and beyond the continent," the first senior administration official said in a statement.

Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, announced the deaths in a statement released on Thursday night. According to him, 10 other commanders whose names were not immediately released, died in the operation. The US has been helping Somalia in counterpart operations.

Al-Shabaab has been under an onslaught in the last seven months with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud bowing to eliminate them in operations. The militants have in return been carrying out sporadic retaliatory attacks especially in urban centers according to records released by the government.

GAROWE ONLINE