Government says airstrikes kill senior Al-Shabaab leaders and affiliated clan elders in central Somalia

The Somali National Army (SNA), in coordination with the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), carried out a series of airstrikes in central Somalia, killing several senior Al-Shabaab leaders and affiliated clan elders, the government said on Thursday.

The airstrikes, supported by Somali Air Force aircraft and international partners, targeted Al-Shabaab hideouts in the Dib-dheer area of El-Buur district in the Galguduud region.

A government statement said the strikes killed key figures within the militant group, including Ahmed Moallim, Al-Shabaab’s leader in El-Buur; Abu Salman, the group’s leader in El-Garas, Galguduud; Hussein Ali Badal, Al-Shabaab’s leader in Xiindheere; Budul Farax Geedi, the leader in El-Qooxle; and Sakariye, a commander in Galguduud.

Several elders linked to Al-Shabaab were also killed in the strikes, the statement added, identifying them as Mire Cagdheer, Muse Omar, Mohamed URur, and Haji Bashir.

The airstrikes come as Al-Shabaab has stepped up attacks across the country since the beginning of Ramadan, with government forces seeking to counter the group’s escalating operations.