...KABOOM!...
s within Somalia's HirShabelle state, in what comes amid a heightened crackdown against al-Shabaab
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
gunnies in the Horn of Africa nation, where the national army is working with partners to dismantle the bad boys.
On Sunday, the US Africa Command reported that the airstrikes were purposely for "self-defense" against the Somalia-based al-Shabaab and were conducted last week within the troubled town of Adale in Somalia. The Somali National Army [SNA] confirmed the airstrikes last week.
The airstrikes, US Africa Command added, were conducted upon the request of the Somali National Army which was encountering the gunnies in the town. The army has been pushing in central and southern Somalia to vanquish the gunnies who are dominant in those regions.
The first strike took place 176 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu, killing seven bad boys, while the second strike took place approximately 220 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu, killing eight al-Shabaab fighters.
"U.S. Africa Command will continue to assess the results of these operations and will provide additional information as appropriate," read the statement, noting that no civilian was injured during the two incidents due to proper precautionary measures.
"Specific details about the units involved and assets used will not be released in order to ensure operations security."
Over the weekend, the government of Somalia reported that an operation in two villages left over 88 al-Shabaab gunnies dead. While the operation is yet to be confirmed by US Africa Command and ATMIS, the government did mention that international partners were involved in the crackdown.
Mohammed Yusuf Jingab, a senior al-Shabaab leader who is in charge of recruitment and training is said to have been killed following the airstrikes on Friday. However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster...
the claims cannot be verified independently and the al-Shabaab gunnies are yet to issue any statement pertaining to the death which is a massive blow to them.
4 Al-Shabaab commanders surrender in Somalia
[Garowe] Four Al-Shabaab
...... Somalia's version of the Taliban...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
commanders have surrendered to government forces in Somalia, state media confirmed, in the latest wave of victories against the Death Eaters which are attributed to ongoing crackdown against the group which controls large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia.
State media reported that Mohammed Ali Hassan alias Moalim Hudeifa, one of the most wanted al-Shabaab snuffies along with his other three colleagues surrendered to the national army within Middle Shabelle in the HirShabelle state. The state is the epicenter of the operations against the al-Shabaab.
Intelligence reports indicate that Mohammed Ali Hassan alias Moalim Hudeifa was the commander of the al-Shabaab Death Eaters who were crushed recently during an operation in parts of Middle Shabelle last week. He took advantage of the amnesty given to snuffies by the Somali National Army [SNA].
To effectively win the war, the national army has given room for defections from the group with those taking advantage being rehabilitated before repatriation to the community. Hundreds of the Death Eaters have previously made use of the grace period window to defect to the government.
According to the state media, his actions were welcomed by top SNA commanders who insisted that the amnesty is part of the "strategy to completely neutralize al-Shabaab bad boys". "The strategy is working well we hope that more of them will use the avenue to reform."
Statistics from the military indicated that dozens of elders who were sympathetic to the group have since changed and defected to the government with senior al-Shabaab commanders also joining them. The al-Shabaab Death Eaters have lost grip in several parts of the country where they were dominant.
At the same time, the national army arrested eight other Death Eaters in Middle Shabelle during an offensive that also saw the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS], US Africa Command, and local militia participate. In line with the military doctrines, the apprehended individuals will face trial in the military courts.
On Sunday, a self-proclaimed elder Said Rage, and another bad boy, both active members of the Khawarij surrendered to the national army, the state media added. The government through President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has announced that it's just a matter of time after HirShabelle and Galmadug are completely liberated from al-Shabaab.
The president, in an interview with al-Jazeera, lauded the significant progress made by the army in liberating various parts of the country, noting that "for the first time, we have sustained the war against these criminals". Hassan Sheikh also pledged to invest in ideological tactics to defeat the bad boys.