Somalia Airstrike Targets Senior Al-Shabaab Leaders

NAIROBI, Kenya - An airstrike activated in Somalia targeted senior Al-Shabaab leaders on Friday, multiple sources intimated, just as the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) prepared for exit from the country, to pave the way for new peacekeepers — The African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).

In recent years, the Somali National Army (SNA) in partnership with the US Africa Command and the ATMIS contingent, has launched a series of airstrikes in Al-Shabaab strongholds, leading to massive destruction of infrastructures built by the group.

Friday's airstrike was unleashed in the Haway area near Sablale town in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region, local officials reported. The strike resulted in at least 12 deaths, three of whom were commanders besides injuring several senior leaders.

The commanders are said to have been in a meeting at the time the military struck, officials said. The group is said to have been planning multiple attacks across the region before their plans were unearthed by the Somali National Army along with partners.

Aerial surveillance provided by the Americans and the peacekeepers is instrumental in the fight against Al-Shabaab, a group seeking to topple the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia. The al-Shabaab lacks aerial capability and usually struggles in frontlines.

Sablale, located about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, is reportedly a key command center for Al-Shabaab operations in the southern region. It's unclear which country carried out the airstrike but the US military is known for such operations in Somalia.

A few weeks ago, the US military reported crashing of its drone in Somalia but ruled out Al-Shabaab. The U.S. Army-operated MQ-1C crashed in southern Somalia at approximately 12:40 PM local on Nov. 5 according to the statement by the command.

The Al-Shabaab group lost large swathes of rural central and southern regions following a recent operation by the Somali National Army (SNA) with the help of allies. The military is currently involved in active operations within southern and central regions.

GAROWE ONLINE