A senior Al-Shabaab commander was shot and killed in a military operation carried out between Bardale and Awdinle of southern Somalia. Reports indicate that the slain Shabaab operative identified as Ibrahim Moalim Abdi alias Ibrahim Ganey has been under the surveillance of the security assets for several years noting that his death is a huge blow to the militant’s operations in southern regions of Somalia.
Another notorious militant who identity has not been disclosed escaped into the nearby thickets. The operation between Bardale and Awdinle also saw security forces seize several small and sophisticated weapons.
Moalim was a senior group’s commander in charge of coordinating Al-Shabaab operations in Southern regions of Somalia and is believed to be the terror figure behind attacks targeting security forces and civilians in the region. Reports by the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) shows that he’s been coordinating ambush at military bases.
His death also comes barely a fortnight after security forces confirmed the death of Abdikadir Commandos who was a senior Al-Shabaab operative within the Lower Shabelle region. Commandos was killed in a US coordinated airstrike in the southern part of Somalia. The US military announced his death about two weeks after his death.
US and other AMISOM coalition forces continue to mount pressure on the Islamists Al-Shabaab militant group that has waged insurgency in Somalia for more than a decade.
The US is currently running operations targeting Al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups across Africa, but the emphasis has been put in Somalia due to the growing influence of Al-Shabaab and ISIS teams, with reports indicating that they are heavily funded by outsiders.
US Africa Command (AFRICOM) over the weekend reiterated its commitment in the war against terror and underscored that the Islamists militants, Al-Shabaab and ISIS Somalia will not be given chance to expand their territories in Africa. General Stephen Townsend, the commander AFRICOM insisted that the team will continue working with other security forces to eliminate the threat.
