Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s elite Danab Special Forces, operating with Jubaland state security units, killed 14 al-Shabab fighters in a planned raid Tuesday in rural areas around Jamaame town in the country’s southern Lower Juba region, security officials said.
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One additional militant was wounded and several others fled as troops advanced during the coordinated operation, according to the officials.
The joint force targeted suspected al-Shabab positions on the outskirts of Jamaame, a farming district where the al-Qaida-linked group has retained influence despite sustained pressure from federal and regional authorities. The Ministry of Defence and the Somali National Army (SNA) said the mission formed part of an ongoing campaign to dismantle the group’s operational presence across southern Somalia.
“The armed forces remain committed to eliminating al-Shabab militants and ensuring lasting peace and stability for the Somali people,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that such coordinated operations will continue.
Danab — a U.S.-trained special operations brigade within the SNA — has led numerous high-risk strikes aimed at al-Shabab leadership, training camps and logistics hubs. Jubaland security forces have conducted parallel sweeps in Lower Juba as regional authorities seek to stabilize key population centers and reopen supply corridors.
Jamaame, located along the Jubba River southeast of Kismayo, has long been a focal point in the fight against al-Shabab, which uses riverine terrain and rural cover to move fighters and materiel. Officials did not disclose the duration of Tuesday’s operation or whether any equipment was seized as troops cleared targeted sites.
Al-Shabab has waged an insurgency against Somalia’s federal government for more than 16 years, carrying out attacks against security forces, government officials and civilians in an effort to topple the state and impose its interpretation of Islamic law. The group’s network extends across several southern and central regions, where it exploits local grievances, taxation rackets and smuggling routes to sustain its operations.
The Defence Ministry framed the latest sweep in Lower Juba as part of a broader tempo of joint actions designed to disrupt militant mobility and degrade command structures. Authorities did not report casualties among Somali government or allied regional forces in the Jamaame operation.
While federal and state forces have reclaimed territory in recent years, al-Shabab has maintained the ability to regroup and launch asymmetric attacks, underscoring the importance Somali officials place on sustained, intelligence-led offensives like Tuesday’s raid.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
