Counterterrorism operations (CT-Ops) continue to mount concerted pressure on the Islamist Al-Shabaab militants especially in the central region of Somalia that in the past few months has become a terror hotbed for the militant’s activities.
In yet another joint counterterrorism operation, a senior Al-Shabaab commander who has been on the radar of CT-assets in Somalia for some years was over the past weekend killed in Somalia’s Middle Juba region.
Military sources in Somalia confirmed that Hassan Sufyan Qorey, a top Al-Shabaab commander, was killed in Arabow, a notorious Al-Shabaab bastion, located approximately 50 kilometers from Buale town, the regional capital of Middle Jubba.
The joint operation by SNA and AMISOM saw the notorious commander killed alongside six other fighters after a fierce gunfight. The joint troops also seized AK47 rifles among other small arms weaponry used by the militants to destabilize the Somalia’s southern region.
Reports by Strategic Intelligence (SI) indicate that the Al-Qaeda aligned Al-Shabaab fights persistently to maintain control of central and southern regions of Somalia. Over the years Buale town which is still under the control of the Al-Shabaab and is not far from Jilib, the defacto Al-Shabaab’s headquarters.
The killing of Hassan Sufyan Qorey is a huge blow to Al-Shabaab. Qorey was a commander in charge of terrorist attacks in the government-controlled territory and border areas in southern Somalia. His killing comes barely a fortnight after another Al-Shabaab senior commander identified as Mu’ad Dhere, was killed along with 10 of his bodyguards in Lower Shabelle.
Lower Shabelle is another region in southern Somalia that has been used as the battleground between the Al-Shabaab militants and the allied security forces, who have managed to control large swathes.
