Somali intelligence agency kills nine al-Shabab militants in Lower Shabelle

Saturday April 4, 2026

Mogadishu (AX) — Somali security forces struck at the heart of al-Shabab’s bomb-making machinery on Saturday, killing nine militants in coordinated operations in the Lower Shabelle region, according to the National Intelligence and Security Agency.

NISA said in a statement that the raids were carried out with the support of international partners and were aimed at dismantling sites used to produce improvised explosive devices, the signature weapon of the al-Qaida-linked group.

The first phase of the operation took place in the Kunyo Barrow area, where security forces targeted what NISA described as a militant facility equipped with large engines used to manufacture mines and vehicle-borne explosives.

“Six engines were destroyed, and six militants were killed,” the statement said, identifying two of the dead as Abikar Nur, allegedly responsible for engines and vehicles, and Abdifitaah Mohamed Hassan, described as the group’s chief mechanic for assembling explosive-laden vehicles.

In a separate raid in the Tugarey area of the same region, security forces targeted militants hiding in a forested location. Three additional fighters were killed, according to NISA, while others fled the scene.

The agency said the operations significantly disrupted al-Shabab’s capacity to produce improvised explosive devices, which the group frequently uses in attacks against civilians, government officials and security personnel in Mogadishu and other parts of the country.

Lower Shabelle remains a key battleground in Somalia’s long-running conflict with al-Shabab, which continues to control swathes of rural territory despite sustained offensives by Somali army.