Somalia’s military has announced that the security forces have killed 11 al Shabaab militants among them a very senior commander in an operation in the southern region of the country. Mohamed Abu Abdalla, al Shabaab’s deputy commander in the Lower Shabelle region, was killed in the action that took place near Awdhegle town about 60km south of Mogadishu.
According to military sources, Abu Abdalla was the mastermind of some major attack plot on military bases in the region. The military has been closing in on most of the al Shabaab hideouts in the area that are used as rendezvous points for attacks in the capital.
Since the Mogadishu attack that killed almost 500 people the security forces in Somalia and especially Lower Shabelle have been scouring the area of mines and jihadist elements. Moreover, the security forces have enjoyed an advantage brought by the increased airstrikes by US military which in recent past has resulted in the aversion of attacks and neutralization of the mujahedeen.
