Senior Al-Shabaab leader captured in southern Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A senior Al-Shabaab leader was captured over the weekend in Somalia with security forces drawn from the Somali army, the African Union Mission Forces, and the US Africa Command intensifying operations against the militants in central and southern Somalia.

For the last ten months, the three teams have managed to capture and even kill Al-Shabaab militants, besides helping to liberate several strategic towns in the country, which had been under Al-Shabaab misrule in as many years according to a report published by the US Africa Command.

Multiple reports indicate that the elite Danab Special Forces captured Mohamud Mohamed Sheikh Ali, an Al-Shabaab operative behind several attacks and tax collection in Wallaweyn district within Lower Shabelle province, southern Somalia.

Lower Shabelle is one of the regions that is significantly affected by the Al-Shabaab war, with several militants controlling large swathes of the region within the region. But the group is gradually losing control of some of the towns to the allied forces in Somalia.

According to impeccable sources, Mohamed, whose capture is yet to be published by the Danab Special Forces and their US counterparts due to stringent verification procedures, was being hunted down by the troops who were closely monitoring his movements.

Besides leading tax collection and attacks within Lower Shabelle, the militant is part of the team believed to be recruiting child soldiers and training them for the war. He is said to be a key associate of Al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Omar, who has been sick in recent months.

He will now be detained for further grilling before being presented to the military court, which tries those accused of being members of the Al-Shabaab network. He joins the growing list of militants who have either been killed or captured by security forces this year.

The military is keen to consolidate regions that have been under Al-Shabaab as Somalia enters a crucial electioneering period. Al-Shabaab still remains a threat to the country's quest for peace and stability but has considerably lost large swathes in recent months.

GAROWE ONLINE