UAE president visits soldier injured in Al-Shabaab attack in Somalia

ABU DHABI, UAE - His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), visited Captain Mohammed Salem Al Nuaimi, the soldier who was injured in the Mogadishu Al-Shabaab raid, which targeted a military camp.

Captain Al Nuaimi was one of the soldiers who sustained injuries in February when Al-Shabaab raided General Gordon's military training centre in Mogadishu, an incident which left four UAE soldiers dead and a military officer from Bahrain.

Al Nuaimi is currently at Zayed Military Hospital where he is undergoing specialised treatment after being airlifted from Somalia where the incident took place. Somalia and UAE are close partners on matters of security and development.

His Highness inquired about Captain Al Nuaimi’s health and wished him a speedy recovery, and was briefed by doctors on the progress of his treatment, the government reports, noting that he has greatly improved after sustaining serious injuries.

His Highness lauded the resilient spirit and exceptional morale of members of the nation's armed forces, acknowledging their dedication, loyalty, and unwavering commitment to elevating the country's stature and honour.

He was accompanied during the visit by H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Advisor for Special Affairs at the Presidential Court; Major General Sheikh Ahmed bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Deputy Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces, and several senior officials and high-ranking Armed Forces officers.

Al-Shabaab released a purported video of the attacker behind the shooting at the UAE military training camp in Mogadishu on Feb 10 which claimed the lives of 4 UAE military officers, and an officer from the Bahrain Defence Force, among the casualties.

The video, recorded in an undisclosed location, identifies the attacker as Mustafa Mukhtar Adan Abdirahman, but it doesn’t say when he joined the group. The group targets innocent civilians and security officers in their cowardly attacks.

GAROWE ONLINE