Jan. 18, Latest military reports from Somalia indicate that several Al-Shabaab fighters including four senior commanders were killed in SNA operations in southern region of Somalia.
The army offensive saw them capture a key town from the Al-Qaeda affiliated combatants.
According to Somali army 43rd infantry division commander Gen. Ismail Sahardid SNA forces launched an attack on Bar-Sanguni town, located some 45 kilometers south of the coastal city of Kismayo, killing several combatants and subsequently taking control.
The forces also seized two technicals from the combatants.
Sahardid said the combatants in this area have been imposing zakat, or a tax, on the local population.
“We have freed the local civilians who have been suffering under the combatants’ harsh control, where they have been extorting their money and their livestock through what they call zakat,” said Sahardid.
Somali and African Union forces have increased ground and air offensives against the militant group Al-Shabaab in the last few months.
Kismayo was one of the strongholds of Al-Shabaab, with its port being used as the group’s main revenue source before it was driven out by Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in 2012.
