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Somali army kills senior Al Shabab militant, frees hostages

Somali National Army conducted an operation in the town of Mubarak, located 95 kilometres southwest of Mogadishu.

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The operation was carried out by an elite military unit of the SNA in the town of Mubarak.

Somalia claims to have killed a senior militant leader during a military operation against Al Shabab terrorists in the country's Lower Shabelle region, as well as freed several civilians who had been held hostage by them.

The Somali National Army (SNA) conducted the military operation, killing Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Shabab terrorist leader Carab, known by his short name, and wounding Osman Daud and Aw Maay, the other senior members of the terrorist organisation, according to a statement made on Saturday by Daud Aways, the minister for Information, Culture, and Tourism.

The operation was carried out by an elite military unit of the SNA in the town of Mubarak, located 95 kilometres (59 miles) southwest of Mogadishu, according to a statement issued by his ministry.

“Special forces of the Somali national army (SNA) have destroyed Al Shabab’s financial centre in Mubarak area of Lower Shabelle region of Southwest State of Somalia, killing the leader of Al Shabab in the area and wounding nearly a dozen,” the statement said.

During the operation, it freed several civilians who were being held by Al Shabab in the centre, it added.

They were taken to hospitals in Mogadishu for treatment, local residents told Anadolu Agency.

US troops redeployed

Since US President Joe Biden authorised the redeployment of US troops in Somalia, the country has seen an increase in airstrikes against Al Shabab terrorists, most recently in the Hiran region, which killed more than 14 terrorists.

Somalia has been grappling with increasing insecurity for years, with Al Shabab being one of the main threats in the Horn of Africa country.

Since at least 2007, Al Shabab has waged a deadly campaign against the Somali government and international forces that have claimed thousands of lives.

The UN has also warned of growing insecurity in Somalia, detailing attacks by Al Shabab and pro-Daesh groups in its annual report this year.

There were at least 1,518 civilian casualties in terrorist attacks in Somalia in 2018, with 651 killed and 867 injured, and 1,459 killed and 868 injured in 2019, according to the latest UN statistics.