Mogadishu (AX) — Joint operations by Somali government forces and international partners have killed several senior al-Shabab figures overseeing intelligence, explosives and militia activities, officials said Sunday.
At a news conference in Mogadishu, Information Minister Abdifitah Qasim identified the latest reported casualty as Abdullahi Hashi Hirsi, also known as Ikhlas, whom the government said headed al-Shabab’s intelligence wing.
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“Ikhlas was killed Aug. 23 in a planned operation in Jilib district in Middle Juba region carried out by the National Intelligence and Security Agency and international partners,” the minister said.
Qasim said Ikhlas was 46, was born in Dhusamareb and joined al-Shabab in 2006.
According to the minister, he held a series of intelligence posts within the militant group before leading its intelligence department for many years.
“Ikhlas played a major role in gathering information, planning and coordinating al-Shabab operations,” he added. Qasim also accused Ikhlas of abusing and punishing civilians while supervising prisons operated by the group.
The government described his death as a significant setback for al-Shabab’s intelligence network and senior leadership.
Qasim also named other al-Shabab figures whom officials said had been killed during military operations over the past five months.
Among them were Said Huriya, identified by the government as al-Shabab’s extortion chief in eastern Hiiraan, and Hamza Bakool and Osman, who were killed during an operation in Hiiraan’s Taradho area.
The government said Abdihafid, a member of al-Shabab’s explosives unit, died in an Aug. 25 operation in Mahaas district.
Taliman, whom officials identified as the group’s head of rescue operations in Hiiraan, and Omar Hussein, a member of al-Shabab’s Jabhadaha branch, were also killed in that operation.
Mustafa Cato, described by the government as the leader of al-Shabab’s Jabhadaha branch in Hiiraan, sustained serious injuries during the Mahaas operation, officials said.
Other reported fatalities included Ahmed Ali Jamaale, whom the government identified as al-Shabab’s leader in Jowhar district. Officials said he was killed in an operation in War-Ise, in the Middle Shabelle region.
Gedi Mohamed Nur Adde, described as an al-Shabab commander active in the Dumaay and Dabagaalo areas, was killed in the same operation, according to the government.
Ahmed Eebka Aalim, known as Dhaqare, was killed July 4 in an operation on the outskirts of Basra, officials said.
They identified Dhaqare as the al-Shabab figure responsible for attacks involving 107mm mortars.
The Somali government said security forces are maintaining operations along riverbanks in the Middle and Lower Shabelle regions as they pursue remaining al-Shabab fighters.
Qasim said at least 10 members of the group had been killed in the continuing operations.
