Somali military official dies after sustaining injury in a bomb attack

BARDERE, Somalia - A senior commander with the Somali National Army [SNA] has died days after sustaining a critical injury in an Al-Shabaab attack within the Gedo region near the Kenyan border.

The SNA officer's vehicle ran over an Improvised Explosive Device [IED], believed to have been targeting a convoy of the troops on the outskirts of Bardere town, according to his colleagues in the army.

Major Mohamed Dhere died on Monday while undergoing treatment, joining the growing list of security officers who have died in the Al-Shabaab war. He was leading an operation to rescue his colleagues who had been sieged by Al-Shabaab militants.

In Gedo, Dhere is said to have been instrumental in helping the Somali National Army liberate several strategic towns and villages. His death becomes the first major casualty of a senior officer within the ranks of the Somali National Army this year.

Gedo region has been battling the Al-Shabaab menace for several years now and in recent weeks, the military has made significant gains. The Kenya Defense Forces [KDF], the Somali National Army, and Jubaland forces have been leading operations in the area.

Also, there is a huge presence of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] troops who have been important in the fight against Al-Shabaab. The KDF team is in charge of the Sectors II and VI of the AMISOM jurisdictions in the war-torn nation.

Elsewhere, a landmine explosion outside Mogadishu, Somali capital killed the deputy commissioner of Garasbaley in charge of the security Ali Mohamed Moalim and a youth activist and a former journalist Abdirashid Dubad and their driver.

The militants have been targeting government officials and army convoys traveling along the Mogadishu-Afgoye road with remote-controlled landmines.

Also, the US army targeted Radio Andalus, an Al-Shabaab media outlet in the latest airstrike, which was the fourth this year. The airstrike aimed at removing the Al-Shabaab from the airwaves which they have been using to spread propaganda.

GAROWE ONLINE