Somali Army kills more than 75 members of Al Shabaab
MOGADISHU, Sept 14 (NNN-EFE) — The Somali Army, backed by local forces, killed at least 75 members of the jihadist group Al Shabaab on Friday, who attacked a town in the Galgadud region, in the center of the country.
The confrontation, which took place in the city of Celdher, lasted almost seven hours, according to a report by the state-owned Somali National News Agency (SONNA).
The Minister of Defense of Somalia, Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, highlighted that the terrorists suffered “significant losses” and that many were captured alive.
According to the authorities, the security forces recovered the bodies of more than 75 combatants, including several commanders of the group, while at least 85 insurgents were wounded.The Army also captured several combatants and seized a large arsenal of weapons and ammunition.
Intelligence sources confirmed to SONNA that the security services had been following Al Shabaab’s plans since Sept 4, which allowed government and community forces to prepare their response.
Somalia has intensified military operations against Al Shabaab since the country’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, announced a “total war” against the terrorists in August 2022.
Since then, the Army, supported by successive African Union (AU) missions, has carried out multiple offensives against the group, sometimes with the military collaboration of the United States and Turkiye in aerial bombardments.
Al Shabaab, a group affiliated since 2012 to the Al Qaeda terrorist network, frequently carries out attacks to overthrow the central government – supported by the international community – and establish an Islamic state of Wahhabi (ultra-conservative) nature.
Somalia has been in a state of conflict and chaos since 1991, when the dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown, leaving the country without an effective government and in the hands of Islamist militias and warlords. — NNN-EFE