More Al-Shabaab militants killed in Somalia

The sustained operation against Al-Shabaab started sometimes last year after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud assumed office.

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Al-Shabaab militants suffered casualties over the weekend in Central Somalia, the Commander of Somali National Army [SNA] infantry regiment General Mohamed Tahalil Bihi said, noting that the latest operation was carried out in Mudug region of Galmadug state in Somalia. 
 
The operation, he noted, left at least 117 Al-Shabaab militants seat following 8 hours intense gun battle with the group at Doonyaale in Galmadug. This was the biggest success against the group in 2023, he added while acknowledging support from members of the international community.
 
Somali National Army has been fighting alongside the US Africa Command, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] and the local militia. Throughout the operation, the teams have managed to down several Al-Shabaab commanders in strategic villages across the country. 
 
"The al-Shabab were driven out of their trenches. We are currently pursuing the remnants that fled into the forest after the heavy loss," Bihi, who has been coordinating teams against Al-Shabaab militants said, adding that the military will continue pursuing the militants in their hideouts. 
 
Al-Shabaab, he added, had lost strategic towns in Mudug region where they have been controlling for the last decade, adding that the Somali National Army will not give up until the region is liberated from the group. Al-Shabaab controls large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia. 
 
General Bihi noted that Al-Shabaab militants are notorious in some parts where they have been been unleashing on members of the public. The group, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud promised recently, would ve defeated in Galmadug and HirShabelle states where they are dominant. 
 
The sustained operation against Al-Shabaab started sometimes last year after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took over from Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. Since then, thousands of Al-Shabaab terrorists are believed to have died in the process according to data given by the Somali National Army. 

GAROWE ONLINE