MOGADISHU— Somali army forces have brotherly welcomed 3 militants armed with AK-47s after defecting from al Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab.
The three fighters decided to leave from the group and surrendered to government forces in Dollow, a town close to Ethiopian border along Somalia.
Somalia’s Jubaland intelligence says Abdiwahab Ahmed, an Al-Shabab Da’wa official was among those defected and arrived in Dollow town.
Last year, dozens of Al Shabaab militants in southern Somalia were reportedly surrendered to security forces, according to country’s military.
The armed militants laid down their weapons and voluntarily surrendered at military outpost after their camps were washed away by the flood leaving them without basic needs and at risk of suffering waterborne diseases.
The defected militants were weakened and decided to work with the security troops to decimate the remaining networks of the al Shabaab.
However, the al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab militia capabilities faced heavy pressure from Somali army and African Union troops backed by US especial forces.
The US military carried out dozens of air strikes targeting an al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab in south and central Somalia, with two of those raid hit Islamic State in Somalia.
Washington believed such air strikes would reduce threats posed by Al Shabaab and Islamic State groups to Somalia.
The US military claimed to have killed four Islamic State fighters, including deputy leader of the group after two separate air raid carried out in north of Somalia.
