MOGADISHU — Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency said Tuesday it killed a senior al-Shabaab commander in an airstrike on the militant group’s network in Kuunyo Barrow, a town in the Lower Shabelle region.
In a statement, the agency identified the target as Abdullahi Hassan Abdi Cosoble, known as “Abdullahi Wadaad,” describing him as al-Shabaab’s chief finance officer. NISA said the operation was conducted in coordination with Somalia’s international security partners.
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According to NISA, Wadaad oversaw al-Shabaab’s extortion rackets and controlled illicit funds extracted from Somali civilians and businesses. The agency said he headed the group’s so-called taxation unit in both Lower Shabelle and the capital region of Banaadir and was notorious for abuses against traders and residents.
Somalia’s minister of defense, Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, said the slain commander had long been a pillar of the group’s coercive economy. “This leader has been responsible since 2017 for the Khawarij’s illegal taxation activities in the Banaadir region,” Fiqi said, using the government’s term for al-Shabaab. “He harassed businessmen, killed some of them, and forced others to flee the country. He was also behind bombings that destroyed business premises in Mogadishu.”
The government did not release further details about the strike or whether additional militants were killed. Somalia frequently conducts targeted operations against al-Shabaab with support from foreign partners; battlefield claims are often difficult to independently verify in remote and contested areas.
Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked group, has waged a 16-year insurgency against the Somali state, targeting security forces, government officials and civilians with bombings, assassinations and raids. The group’s taxation and extortion apparatus—levied on everything from road shipments to small businesses—has been central to its ability to finance operations and exert control in areas beyond government reach.
Since July last year, the Somali National Army has intensified offensives against the group, with support from the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) and international partners. Government officials say the campaign is designed to fracture al-Shabaab’s command structure, degrade its finances and restore trade corridors to towns long constrained by militant checkpoints and intimidation.
Tuesday’s announcement comes days after Somali forces, working with international partners, said they killed more than 300 al-Shabaab militants during separate operations in southern regions, particularly in Middle Shabelle and Lower Juba. Authorities have portrayed the recent tempo of strikes and ground operations as part of a broader effort to deny the group sanctuaries and disrupt its logistics.
If confirmed, Wadaad’s death would mark a significant blow to al-Shabaab’s financial arm in southern Somalia, where the group has for years enforced “taxes” through threats, detentions and violence. Security analysts say weakening the group’s revenue streams is essential to constraining its capacity to procure weapons, pay fighters and plan complex attacks in urban centers.
Residents and business owners in Mogadishu have repeatedly cited al-Shabaab’s extortion as a driver of economic uncertainty, with some traders shutting shops or relocating after refusing to pay. Authorities say recent security operations are intended to reassure the business community, reopen routes for commerce and reduce the group’s leverage over markets.
Neither NISA nor the Defense Ministry reported any civilian casualties tied to the airstrike. Al-Shabaab did not immediately issue a public response to the government’s claim.
Somali officials say the military campaign will continue in tandem with efforts to expand local administration and stabilize newly recovered areas—measures they argue are critical to preventing the militants from regenerating income and influence as pressure mounts on the battlefield.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
