NISA Says Senior Al-Shabaab Finance Official Killed in Lower Shabelle Operation

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) has said it killed a senior Al-Shabaab finance official in a targeted operation in southern Somalia, dealing what it described as a significant blow to the militant group’s financial network.

Faysal Yusuf Macallin Abdulle, also known as Abdikarim Horseed or Gaagaale, was killed on October 23 in Kuunyo Barrow, in the Lower Shabelle region, during an operation conducted by NISA with support from international partners, the agency said in a statement issued Wednesday.

According to NISA, Faysal was a former head of Al-Shabaab’s finance department who had remained closely involved with the group’s senior leadership.

His death marks another reported setback for the Al-Qaeda-linked group, which relies heavily on an extensive taxation and extortion network to finance its insurgency against Somalia’s federal government.

NISA said Faysal joined Al-Shabaab clandestinely in 2007 while working at a shop in Mogadishu’s Bakara market, which he allegedly used as cover for his activities.

Between 2007 and 2011, he headed the group’s financial operations in the Banadir region, overseeing the collection of money from civilians and businesses, according to the intelligence agency.

He subsequently served as Al-Shabaab’s chief accountant from 2011 to 2014 before becoming its overall finance chief, a position he held until 2024.

NISA said he later handed over the role to Abdullahi Hassan Abdi Qosoble, also known as Abdullahi Wadaad, who was killed in a separate operation in Kuunyo Barrow on January 23, 2026.

The agency said the deaths of the two former finance chiefs represented a major disruption to Al-Shabaab’s leadership and revenue collection networks.

Al-Shabaab has maintained an elaborate system of collecting money from businesses, traders and communities, including in areas beyond its direct territorial control. The revenue has helped sustain its operations despite years of military pressure from Somali forces and international partners.

Disrupting those financial networks has become an important part of Somalia’s broader counterterrorism campaign, alongside military offensives aimed at weakening the group’s presence in southern and central regions.

NISA said it would continue targeting senior Al-Shabaab figures and dismantling networks involved in collecting money used to finance attacks against Somali civilians.