Somalia’s elite commando unit said it killed a senior Al-Shabaab operative on Saturday in the El-Cuni neighbourhood of Tieglow district in the southwestern Bakool region.
The 16th Danab Division Force killed Mohamud Nur Gaal (Sheikh Al-Sima), who is believed the be the highest-ranking member of the militant insurgency group in the Bay and Bakool regions.
Somalia’s military said that 11 Al-Shabaab fighters were killed during a seperate operation near Kismayo this week.
Arab Ahmed, the commander of the 16th Danab Division, said that an Al-Shabaab commander was also captured during an operation carried out in the vicinity of Yaq-halul, about 55 km from Kismayo.
In recent weeks, Somali government forces have increased operations against Al-Shabaab in southern and central Somalia. The Al Qaeda-linked, militant insurgency group has been waging a deadly war against Somalia’s internationally-backed government for over a decade.
