More than 100 al Shabaab terrorists killed in military operation

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Jul 2023 19:17

The operation comes days before the government plans to begin the second phase of its comprehensive battle against the group combatants.

Al Shabaab fighters conducting military exercises in northern Mogadishu Suqaholaha neighborhood, Somalia, on September 5, 2010 (AP)

After clashes between the two sides in the Galgadud province on Friday, the Somali National Army, supported by International Partners, announced the deaths of over 100 terrorists from al Shabaab, including senior militants.

Abdirahman Yusuf Al Adala, the deputy minister of information, informed the state-run news agency SONNA that the forces had found weapons during the operation and that the terrorists were unable to even gather their dead bodies.

"Our forces took swift action against al Shabaab terrorists who were trying to carry out an attack. We killed over 100 Khawarij fighters including senior commanders and forced them to flee from their dead bodies. SNA forces are committed to destroying the terrorist network in this region and throughout the country," Al Adala told SONNA.

The operation comes days before the government plans to begin the second phase of its comprehensive battle against the group combatants in the southwest and southern regions of the nation.

Earlier this month, Kenya's national police force confirmed that 20 gunmen were killed and eight officers were injured in a suspected al Shabaab attack at the border with Somalia.

While patrolling in Mandera, a county that shares a border with Somalia, a special unit of police was attacked with "heavy" fire in an ambush which "left 20 militants fatally injured," according to the national police service on its official Twitter account.

The Kenyan government announced at the time that the planned reopening of the long-closed border with Somalia was delayed following deadly attacks blamed on the Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

All-out war

Kenya is considered a major contributor to an African Union force in Somalia in an effort to curb al Shabaab's ability to carry out fatal attacks.

Militant groups have been waging an insurgency against the central government for more than a decade. They managed to be active in parts of Somalia and other countries of the Horn of Africa, including Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti.

They have carried out numerous attacks in the last years that have claimed hundreds of lives.

Earlier this month, the Somalian government confirmed that al Shabaab has requested negotiations after the army launched an "all-out war" against its militants.