MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s elite Danab commando forces killed at least 15 al-Shabab militants and arrested eight others during a nighttime operation in the town of Jilib, a key stronghold of the extremist group.
The raid took place in Jilib, the capital of the Middle Juba region, which serves as al-Shabab’s main operational hub. The Somali Ministry of Defense said the operation was carefully planned and demonstrated the growing capabilities of the Somali National Army, including the use of air support.
“In the operation, 15 militants were killed and eight others were captured,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the raid showed the military’s ability to strike targets “at any place and any time.”
The ministry praised the Danab forces for their professionalism and said the operation inflicted significant losses on the group.
The raid followed another operation carried out in Jilib a day earlier in which two senior al-Shabab leaders were killed, according to defense Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi.
Fiqi said the earlier strike was conducted by Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency, with support from international partners.
Fiqi identified the two men as Abdullahi Osman Mohamed Abukar, known as Engineer Ismail, and Abdikariim Mohamed Hirsi, also known as Qoorleex.
Engineer Ismail was a senior figure within al-Shabab and was considered a close aide to the group’s leader, Ahmed Diriye, Fiqi said. He had overseen several key departments, including weapons, explosives and internal security, and had previously worked in the group’s media operations.
Hirsi was responsible for al-Shabab’s external operations and was linked to attacks carried out in neighboring countries, particularly Kenya, Somali officials said.
Al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked militant group, has waged an insurgency in Somalia for more than a decade and frequently targets government forces, civilians and international interests.
