OSINT SUMMARY
Confirmed military reports from Somalia indicate that African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) and Somali government forces (SNA) killed nine fighter of Harakat al Shabaab al Mujahideen (HSM) in two separate incidents on Thursday.
According the military source, the first incident happened when the troops attacked the militants running an illegal checkpoint near near Sabiid in the town of Afgoye some 25 kilometers northwest of Somali’s capital Mogadishu.
During the clash, five insurgents were killed as confirmed on AMISOM’s statement on their Twitter feed. The militants were using the checkpoint for extortion.
In the second military operation, four Al-Shabaab combatants were killed during security forces raid on an illegal Al-Shabaab station and taxation center near Beled Amiin.
“Amisom working with the federal government of Somalia will continue to degrade al-Shabaab and allow the people of Somalia to enjoy peace and security,” the mission said.
Al-Shabaab has been waging insurgency in Somalia since 2006 in a bid to topple the Western-backed government and impose as strict version of Islamist sharia law.
Though SNA, AMISOM operation have dislodged the militants in key towns and localities the group remains persistent and carries out gun and grenade attacks targeting government personnel, military officers and hotels in Mogadishu.
