Al-Shabaab has killed a Somali Elder identified as Mohamed Hussein in the capital Mogadishu. Mr. Hussein, a former Federal MP, was shot dead in his shop by Al-Shabaab assassins in Mogadishu in what analysts claim is the elimination of key political players involved in outreach efforts.
Al Shabaab uses targeted assassinations as a way to instill fear among those individuals in the community that attempt to bridge a gap between the government and local youth. The key political players like Mr. Hussein are involved in outreach efforts that are aimed at luring al Shabaab operatives into defections or surrender to the government officials.
In recent weeks, the al Shabaab terror network has been losing members to the outreach programs as well as suffering major setbacks as more of their attacks are either botched or ambushed following intelligence gathered through the programs.
