U. S. military reported death of leader of Al-Shabab in Somalia
2022.10.03 15:11
U. S. military reported death of leader of Al-Shabab in Somalia
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – While the insurgents claimed responsibility for a new attack, the U.S. military claimed that an air strike in Somalia over the weekend killed a leader of the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab.
According to the government of Somalia, the leader was one of the co-founders of the al-Qaeda-linked group that has carried out bombings that have killed tens of thousands of people since 2006.
It claimed that he had been in line to succeed the group’s ailing leader, Ahmed Diriye, and referred to him as Abdullahi Nadir, the chief prosecutor of al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab did not immediately address the strike.
According to the information ministry of Somalia, Nadir’s “death is a thorn removed from the Somali nation.”
“The government is thankful to the Somali people and international friends whose cooperation made it possible to kill this leader, who was an enemy of the Somali nation,” the statement reads.
According to the U.S. Africa Command, the air strike was carried out on Saturday near Jilib, which is approximately 370 kilometers (230 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu.
The African Union peacekeeping mission and U.S. troops, drones, and Somali security forces have touted recent gains against al Shabaab.
However, the militants, who are attempting to implement their interpretation of Islamic law and overthrow the Western-backed government, have continued to carry out deadly raids, including two on Friday that resulted in the deaths of at least 16 people.
The state news agency said that two car bombs went off on Monday in the central city of Beledweyne, killing at least 20 people and injuring many more.
Three locals claimed that security forces were able to detonate a third car bomb without injuring anyone else.
The spokesman for Al Shabaab’s military operations claimed responsibility for the attack, which claimed the lives of dozens of officials and soldiers.
After three years in which his predecessor was consumed by political infighting and took little action against al-Shabaab, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was elected by lawmakers in May, has promised to take on the insurgents.
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