Somalia: Intelligence Officer Found Dead in Mogadishu, Raising Questions
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Staff Reporter
- Posted On 02-08-2025, 08:51PM
MOGADISHU, Somalia — A senior officer with Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) was found dead Thursday night under mysterious circumstances in Mogadishu, intensifying concerns about internal security breaches within the country’s top intelligence body.
Abukar Muhiyaadin Ahmed, 31, who served as the head of the directorate of intelligence for Mogadishu, was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds in the Siigaale neighborhood. According to security sources, Ahmed had been leading a NISA unit on a mission to apprehend a suspected al-Shabab operative when the incident occurred. The suspect reportedly fled before gunfire erupted.
Local residents discovered Ahmed’s body and alerted authorities. Witnesses said he appeared to have been shot several times and bled to death at the scene. Authorities have not yet released an official statement confirming the exact cause of death.
Ahmed was overseeing a high-profile investigation into the March 18 roadside bombing that targeted President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s convoy along the route connecting the presidential palace and Aden Adde International Airport. He was scheduled to brief the president on the investigation’s findings this Saturday.
Following his death, NISA detained several officers who were with Ahmed during the operation. Intelligence sources have raised suspicions that he may have been deliberately targeted due to sensitive information he had uncovered in the course of his investigation.
The incident has reignited long-standing concerns over possible infiltration of NISA by al-Shabab operatives. In 2021, the disappearance of Ikran Tahlil, a young NISA officer, near the agency’s headquarters stirred national outrage. Her fate remains unknown, and no formal investigation has been made public.
The Somali federal government has yet to comment on Ahmed’s death or its implications for the broader investigation into the assassination attempt on the president.
GAROWE ONLINE
