Security forces in Somalia have killed a top al Shabaab commander and trainer of Nepalese descent in recent military operations. He was killed alongside three other fighters in a new wave of counterinsurgency operation against the al Qaeda-affiliated group in the Horn of Africa.
The commander and trainer has been identified as Ahsraf Azmi Abu Hamdan. He is believed to have traveled from Nepal and was a senior trainer in the Islamist group. He was killed in an operation in the Middle Juba region in southern Somalia. Intelligence reports have in the past indicated the presence of a considerable number of foreign fighters within the ranks of al Shabaab and the neutralization of Hamdan in a testament to that.
Despite the frequent infighting and the suspicion on foreign fighters by local al Shabaab fighters, foreign fighters with experience are given commander as well as other high-ranking positions with al Shabaab. The foreign fighters are typically used for propaganda and recruitment campaigns as well as training as they tend to be more seasoned and having received their training in more violent and better-established branches of the al Qaeda.
