The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Al Shabab

  • U.S. confirms Al-Shabaab commander killed in air strike

    U.S. confirms Al-Shabaab commander killed in air strike

    The U.S. on Friday confirmed that a high-level al-Shabab commander was in Somalia during an air strike.

    According to a statement from the U.S. military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM), the strike which took place on July 30 killed the top al-Shabab’s commander Ali Hussein, also known as Ali Jabal.

    Somali information ministry said on Monday the attack near the southern town of Torotoroow targeted a man identified as Ali Mohamed Hussein or Ali Jabal.

    “The U.S. conducted this operation in coordination with its regional partners as a direct response to al Shabaab actions, including recent attacks on Somali forces,” the said in a statement on Friday.

    “His removal disrupts Al Shabaab’s ability to plan and conduct attacks in Mogadishu and coordinate efforts between Al Shabaab regional commanders.”

    It is the second such raid in the last two months that has killed senior members of al Shabaab.

    A U.S. Navy SEAL was killed and two troops were wounded in May during a raid on one of the group’s compounds in what appeared to be the first U.S. combat death in the African country since the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” incident.

    An AFRICOM spokesperson said the U.S. had carried out 13 strikes in 2016 and three so far this year.

    Al Shabaab was not immediately reachable for comment.

    The al Qaeda-affiliated insurgents have carried out frequent attacks in Mogadishu as they bid to topple

    Somalia’s Western-backed government and drive out AU peacekeeping troops.

    Somalia has been at war since 1991, when clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre and then turned against each other.

  • Al-Shabab beheads nine civilians in Kenya

    Al-Shabab extremists from Somalia beheaded nine civilians in an early-morning attack on a village in southeast Kenya yesterday, according to officials.

    The attack occurred in Jima village in Lamu County, said James Ole Serian, who leads a task force of security agencies combating al-Shabab.

    Beheadings by al-Shabab have been rare in Kenya, where the extremist group has carried out dozens of deadly attacks over the years. The East African country has seen an increase in attacks claimed by al-Shabab in recent weeks, posing a security threat ahead of next month’s presidential election.

    The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab has vowed retribution on Kenya for sending troops in 2011 to Somalia to fight the group, which last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa.

    Yesterday’s attack occurred in the Pandaguo area, where al-Shabab fighters engaged security agencies in a day-long battle three days ago.

    A police report said  about 15 al-Shabab fighters  attacked Jima village and seized men yesterday, killing them with knives

  • AU, Somalia forces recapture town from Al-Shabaab

    The Africa Union peacekeeping forces in Somalia, (AMISOM), supported by Somali troops, on Tuesday, recaptured the southern town of Janale from Al-Shabaab militants.

    Abdi Ibrahim Shamow, police commander for Lower Shabelle region where the town is located, said the joint forces took the town in the morning without resistance from the militants.

    “Al-Shabab militants attempted to make resistance, but failed and ran away from the town. They knew we were stronger than them, no casualties at all,’’ Shamow said.

    The joint forces have recently stepped up security operations in the region, according to the official.

    Al-Shabaab attacked the AMISOM base in Janale in September 2016 and took the town, claiming it killed 70 soldiers.

    The Islamist group has been carrying out frequent deadly attacks across the country, fighting to topple the Somali government.

     

  • Al Shabab journalist sentenced to death in Somalia

    A Somali military court has sentenced to death a former journalist who helped al-Shabab kill five fellow reporters.

    Hassan Hanafi assisted the Islamist militant group by identifying possible targets amongst journalists between 2007 and 2011, the BBC reports.

    He joined its armed wing after working for Radio Andalus, al-Shabab’s mouthpiece in Somalia.

    More than 25 journalists have been murdered in Somalia since 2007, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

    While he was working for al-Shabab, Hanafi would call up journalists and threatened them with death if they refused to join the militant group, the BBC says.

    He was arrested by police in 2014 in neighbouring Kenya, where he had fled, and was then extradited to Somalia.

     

  • Al Shabab fighters kill 30 in Somalia

    Somalia’s al Shabaab group bombed a busy junction and a nearby restaurant in the town of Baidoa on Sunday, killing at least 30 people, police and the group said.

    Al Shabaab often carries out such suicide attacks in the capital and elsewhere in its bid to topple Somalia’s Western- backed government. The group wants to impose its strict version of Islamic rule in the Horn of Africa nation.

    “The restaurant and the junction were very busy,” Police Major Bilow Nurr told Reuters from Baidoa, which lies about 245 km (152 miles) northwest of Mogadishu.

    Police Colonel Abdi Osman said the death toll was 30, with 40 others injured.

    Hospital officials said many of the bodies it received were charred beyond recognition.

    A police officer said a suicide car bomb blew up at the junction while a second blast – possibly a bomb that had been planted or a suicide bomber – struck the restaurant.

    “We targeted government officials and forces,” al Shabaab’s military operation spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, told Reuters, adding there was a police station nearby.

    Ismail Olad told Reuters the two locations were full of civilians and security forces.

    “I heard a huge crash at the busy junction and as I ran, I heard another blast at a restaurant ahead of me. The whole place was covered by smoke,” he said.

  • Al Shabab fighters storm Somali hotel

    Militants on Friday stormed a hotel in the centre of the Somali capital Mogadishu, in an attack claimed by the al-Shabab group.

    Two large explosions believed to be car bombs were heard near the Somali Youth League (SYL) hotel, the BBC reports.

    A popular park, known as the Peace Garden, is also reported to have come under attack.

    At least eight people have been wounded, medical sources told the BBC.

    Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate, is waging an armed insurgency in Somalia.

    Al-Shabab told the BBC they were “in control” of the hotel.

    “We have attacked the SYL Hotel and we’ve forced our way into the hotel,” the group said.

  • Kenyan forces kill 24 Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia

    Twenty Four Al-Shabaab militants have been killed in an offensive by Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in Somalia, military spokesman, Col. David Obonyo, said Thursday.

    Obonyo said the terrorists were confronted when the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISON) forces captured Bardere Bridge where they recovered 25 AK-47 rifles.

    “AMISOM forces together with Somalia National Army (SNA) have captured the strategic Bardhere Bridge.

    “The capture of the bridge was a culmination of AMISOM operation ‘Juba Corridor’ which started on 14 July 2015.

    “The operation commenced from Fafadun and involved the liberation of a series of towns from Tarako, Jungal – bombarded by artillery a week ago and Tawakal,” he said.

    He said that four Somali soldiers were killed during the attack that occurred early Wednesday that also left two Kenyan soldiers wounded.

    “In the morning engagement at Tawakal before capturing the bridge, 24 Al Shabaab terrorists were killed, four others were injured and one technical vehicle was destroyed.
    “The AMISOM/SNA forces seized 25 AK-47 rifles, one PKM machine gun and assorted rounds of ammunition,” he said.

    He said the Bardhere Bridge was the main gateway into Gedo, adding that the Al Shabaab militia had predominantly used the bridge to move their fighters, weapons, ammunition and contraband goods into Gedo.

    “’The loss of the bridge is, therefore, a major operational milestone in the fight against Al Shabaab and plays an integral part in shaping up operations for the ultimate capture of Bardhere town,” he said.

    AMISOM forces have intensified offensive against Al Shabaab militants as they strive to secure Kenya and the region ahead of Friday’s arrival of US President Barack Obama

  • Al-Shabaab threatens to attack Kenya during Ramadan

    Somali terrorist group, Al-Shabaab, said on Thursday that it was planning to attack neighbouring Kenya during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins June 17.

    A senior al-Shabaab commander told newsmen on condition of anonymity that they were planning to give Kenyan non-believers a true taste of Jihad (the holy war) in the next few days and weeks.

    “Attacks were mainly planned in Kenya’s north-eastern province that borders Somalia,’’ he said.

    However, the group claimed it already infiltrated the region.

    “We will keep targeting and destroying Kenya’s education sector and business sector,’’ the al-Shabaab commander said.

    According to the commander, the terrorists are also threatening to attack Kenyan troops stationed in southern Somalia in coming weeks.

    Al-Shabaab has targeted Kenya since 2011, when Kenyan troops entered Somalia to help the government fight the group.

    Al-Shabaab killed 152 people at a university campus in Garissa in April and no fewer than 67 people at a Nairobi shopping mall in September 2013.

  • FG condemns Kenya university carnage

    FG condemns Kenya university carnage

    The Federal Government has condemned what it termed the gruesome attack on a university campus in Garissa, Kenya by Al-Shabaab terrorists which claimed 147 lives.

    A statement issued by the Public Communications Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja, said the Federal Government received the report of the attack with great shock.

    The Federal Government commensurate with the families of the victims and expressed solidarity to the Government and people of Kenya.

    “The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria vehemently condemns the act of horror unleashed on the innocent, defenceless who were in school in search of education for a better future.

    “It therefore extends its heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims. It expresses solidarity with the Government and people of Kenya at this period of national grief.

    “The Federal Government reiterates that terror and terrorism do not recognise national boundaries and have become a major threat to international peace and security”, the statement said.

    The Federal Government called for global action against terrorism anywhere in the world.

    “We call on the international community to ensure that the fight against terrorism anywhere in the world remains a global priority,” the Federal Government said.

  • Somalia rebel group leader is dead

    Somalia rebel group leader is dead

    A COMMANDER of Somalia’s Islamic extremist rebels, al Shabab, has confirmed that the leader of the group was killed in a US air strike.

    Abu Mohammed said on Saturday the militants were meeting at an undisclosed location to pick the successor to Ahmed Abdi Godane.

    Godane and other al Shabab officials were killed when a US air strike hit two cars in southern Somalia on Monday.

    A senior Somali intelligence officer said Zakariya Ismael, who has a three million US dollars bounty on his head, is one of the candidates to succeed Godane.

    Earlier a top official said Somalia’s government had credible intelligence that Islamic militants were planning attacks following the death of their leader.

    In a televised speech, Gen Khalif Ahmed Ereg, Somalia’s national security minister, said medical and educational institutions could be targeted. Mr Ereg said the government is vigilant and had prepared its armed forces to prevent such attacks.

    President Barrack Obama confirmed on Friday that Godane was killed by the US air strike.

    Godane had publicly claimed al Shabab was responsible for the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya, almost a year ago that left 67 people dead.

    Mr Ereg called on militants still fighting for the al Qaida-linked group to surrender to get a “brighter” livelihood from the government.

    The US State Department declared al Shabab a terrorist organisation in February 2008.