MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somali security forces have arrested Abdinasir Mohamed Hassan, a man suspected of ties to Al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-linked extremist group, following an operation.
Hassan, a mechanical engineer, is responsible for inspecting and preparing vehicles used by Al-Shabaab as Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIEDs) to target hotels and key installations in Mogadishu, according to a statement from Somalia’s intelligence agency.
The agency said Hassan had been involved in modifying at least nine vehicles, all of which were used in suicide bombings by the al-Qaeda-linked group, claiming the lives of dozens of innocent people in the capital and other areas.
He is also accused of handing over the most recent vehicle he worked on to Abdinasir Dahir Nur Jim’ale, which was later used in the March 14 suicide attack on SYL Hotel, just a few meters from Somalia’s presidential compound in Mogadishu.
Fighters then stormed the hotel building in a hail of bullets late on Thursday. At least three soldiers and six attackers were killed, and 27 people were wounded in the 13-hour siege. The Al-Shabaab group claimed responsibility in a brief statement.
Jim’ale, known as Guri Ma Leedahay, a notorious figure in the Elasha area near the capital, was captured, sentenced, and is now serving his time in jail, said the agency.
This comes two days after security forces arrested two medical professionals, Koshin Mohamed Ahmed and Keyse Farah Hassan, on Saturday in Mogadishu, in connection with the militant group.
The spy agency said that Ahmed was in charge of managing hospitals and treating Al-Shabaab fighters injured in combat and brought to Mogadishu, while Hassan is said to have been treating the group’s members in Jilib, a stronghold in the Middle Jubba region.
Hassan is related to Hussein Ali Fidow, a senior Al-Shabaab leader who handles policy and regional affairs. Fidow oversees the group’s shadow governors in areas under its control and is believed to help manage relations with local clans. He is also thought to sit on the group’s leadership council.
Last week, the agency also reported that its security forces detained Abdullahi Ahmed Hassan, a First Lieutenant in the Somali National Army (SNA), on charges of collaborating with Al-Shabaab. Despite his rank, Hassan had been secretly working as a mole for the group.
Despite claims that militant members have been apprehended, Al-Shabaab has yet to respond. This comes after, on Wednesday, the al-Qaeda-linked group said it executed two men in their twenties, accused of being government soldiers, by firing squad in the Busley Da’ud area near Janalle town in the Lower Shabelle region, about 90 km southwest of Mogadishu.
Driven out of the capital, Mogadishu, in 2011 by Somali and African Union forces, the group continues to carry out deadly attacks. For over a decade, they have fought to overthrow the Somali government and impose a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
Al-Shabaab still controls large areas in southern Somalia, from where it is believed to launch attacks against Somali National Army bases, African Union peacekeepers, and the capital, Mogadishu, and elsewhere.
