On 18th of May 2019, the Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia, Harakat Shabaab Mujaideen (HSM), suffered significant losses in Juba Region of Somalia after approximately 56 members were killed by a precision airstrike targeting their camp at Hola Wajeer, a village in the outskirts of Baadhade Township in Somalia and near Kolbio outpost village in Lower Garissa, North Eastern Prefecture of Kenya.
Shabaab Mujahideen commander for Southern Juba area of operations, Abdi Kamal, was killed and buried alongside 53 of his men in mass graves outside the township. 2 Vehicles were completely destroyed in the airstrike. Dozens of militants escaped with approximately 12 sustaining extreme injuries.
This is one of the group’s major losses this year. The group has been regrouping and deploying along the area to regain strategic dominance in both Juba and Gedo regions. Bothe prefectures border Kenya along the NEP.
