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Africa Horn

Somali Govt confirms top Al-Shabab commander killed in US airstrike

2023-12-23

[ShabelleMedia] Somali government has reported that a senior al-Shabaab
... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
commander involved in the hard boy group’s attacks in Somalia and Kenya was killed in a U.S. ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
<del>Arclight</del> airstrike

...KABOOM!...
Sunday near the city of Jilib.

The government said the operation that led to the killing of Maalim Ayman was the result of collaboration between the Somali Armed Forces and U.S. military.

"His killing is a thorn removed from the Somali people," said a statement issued Thursday by the Ministry of Information.

The U.S. military command in Africa, AFRICOM, confirmed that the strike near Jilib killed one al-Shabaab hard boy and said there were no civilian casualties.

"This is another step to defeat the terrorist group that undermines Somalia’s peace and development," AFRICOM said in a statement without identifying the dear departed hard boy by name.

"U.S. Africa Command will continue to assess the results of the operation and will provide additional information as appropriate. Specific details about the units involved and assets used will not be released in order to ensure operational security," the statement said.

Al-Shabaab has not commented on the reported killing.

Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice program offered a reward of up to $10 million

...goodness, that’s an awful lot of the green stuff...

"for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of Maalim Ayman or any individual who committed, attempted or conspired to commit, or aided or abetted in the commission of the January 5, 2020, terrorist attack on U.S. and Kenyan personnel at the Manda Bay Airfield in Kenya."

The U.S. accused Ayman of being responsible for preparing the Manda Bay Airfield attack, which killed a U.S. soldier and two U.S. Defense Department contractors. It maimed two other U.S. service members and a third Defense contractor.

The Manda Bay Airfield is part of a Kenyan Defense Forces military base used by U.S. armed forces to provide training and counterterrorism support to East African partners, respond to crises and protect U.S. interests in the region, according to the State Department.

The U.S. identified Ayman as the leader of Jaish Ayman, an al-Shabaab unit that conducts terrorist attacks and operations in Kenya and Somalia. Jaish Ayman (Army of Ayman) includes foreign murderous Moslems recruited by al-Shabaab largely from East Africa.

Al-Shabaab grabbed credit for the Manda Bay attack and published purported video of the group’s emir, Ahmed Umar Abu Ubaidah, personally meeting the attackers before the operation.

The al-Shabaab video claimed the attackers included a Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
i, an Æthiopian, a Tanzanian and Somalis.

Al-Shabaab identified Manda Bay attackers: Moulana Faruq Moulana, Ahmed al-Muhajir, Cmdr (Yemen), Abubakar al-Muhajir (Tanzania), Ali Muhammad Ali, Qudama al-Muhajir (Æthiopia), and Abdulwali Muhammad Ibrahim "Moallim Omar" & Adam Iman Yusuf, Abdulkareem (both Somalis).

Ayman is the second al-Shabaab commander connected to the Manda Bay attack who has been killed in a U.S. strike. In March 2020, the U.S. reported an operation that it said had killed Bashir Qoorgaab, who was linked to the planning of the operation.

A U.S. airstrike in May injured the head of al-Shabaab’s external operations, Osman Mohammed Abdi, known as Moallim Osman.

Garowe adds:

While announcing the progress, General Ibrahim Sheikh Muhydin said the Middle Jubba attack on 17th December killed the militant, who has been on the run for three years.

Throughout his hideout, Moalim Ayman had a $10 million bounty on his head, with the US and Somali forces activating search across the country. The attack in coastal Kenya was mostly organized by several foreigners, some of whom are on the run in Somalia.

Posted by:trailing wife

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