NISA Says 20 More Al-Shabaab Militants Killed in Latest Operations Amid Intensified Military Offensive

GOOBJOOG NEWS| CENTRAL SOMALIA: Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said on Tuesday that 20 Al-Shabaab members, including a senior commander responsible for the group’s weapons stockpiles, were killed in coordinated operations carried out with international partners in the Middle Shabelle and Hiraan regions.

In a statement, NISA said the operations targeted militants involved in recruiting fighters, stockpiling weapons and planning attacks against civilians and security forces.

The first operation took place near Geel-gub, close to Masaajid Cali Gaduud in Middle Shabelle, where intelligence indicated Al-Shabaab had assembled fighters for planned attacks. NISA said a series of precision strikes hit militant hideouts, killing 12 fighters and destroying the group’s bases and defensive positions used to organize and prepare operations.

In a separate operation in Buq-aqable in Hiraan region, security forces targeted what NISA described as a key logistics hub used to store weapons collected from the Middle Shabelle, Hiraan and Galgaduud regions.

According to the agency, seven militants were killed, including a senior operative identified only as Faaruuq, who was responsible for managing the group’s weapons depot. The operation also destroyed the facility along with weapons and military equipment stored there, including two Cabdi Bile machine guns, a Nooh heavy weapon and two motorcycles used by the militants.

NISA said the operations were conducted in cooperation with international partners and form part of an ongoing campaign to dismantle Al-Shabaab’s leadership, logistics network and operational infrastructure.

The latest operations come amid an intensified military offensive against the al-Qaeda-linked group across central Somalia over the past several days.

In recent operations, Somali security forces and allied partners have reported killing dozens of suspected Al-Shabaab militants in targeted airstrikes and ground assaults in Middle Shabelle and Hiraan. Earlier this week, security officials announced that at least 11 suspected militants were killed in a joint operation near the Kenya-Somalia border, while separate precision strikes targeted Al-Shabaab positions in central Somalia, destroying weapons caches and command sites.

The federal government has stepped up pressure on the insurgent group as it seeks to prevent the militants from regrouping in parts of central Somalia, where Al-Shabaab has launched a series of attacks in recent months in an apparent attempt to regain territory.

Despite suffering significant losses from sustained military operations backed by local clan militias and international partners since 2022, Al-Shabaab continues to stage bombings, assassinations and raids targeting government installations, military bases and civilian areas across Somalia. The government says ongoing offensives are aimed at degrading the group’s operational capabilities and disrupting its ability to recruit fighters, move weapons and coordinate attacks.