MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government said Thursday that a planned airstrike in the al-Shabab-held town of Jilib on Dec. 10 killed two senior leaders of the extremist group, including a bomb-making chief who carried a $5 million U.S. bounty.
The National Intelligence and Security Agency, known as NISA, said the strike killed Abdullahi Osman Mohamed, widely known as Engineer Ismail, describing him as al-Shabab’s chief explosives planner. The United States had offered up to $5 million for information leading to his capture, underscoring his central role in the group’s bombing campaign.
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Also killed, according to NISA, was Abdirahman Mohamed Hersi, known as Qoorleex. The agency identified him as a key regional coordinator and a senior figure in al-Shabab’s media and propaganda apparatus, which the government says the group uses to recruit, incite and manage operations.
NISA said the “precision operation,” conducted with support from international partners, was designed to disrupt al-Shabab’s command, intelligence and misinformation networks as Somalia presses a long-running offensive against the al-Qaida-linked organization. The agency framed the strike as part of a broader effort to degrade al-Shabab’s leadership structure and diminish its capacity to plan and execute attacks.
Al-Shabab, which retains control over pockets of central and southern Somalia, has carried out frequent bombings and assassinations targeting government officials, security forces and civilians in Mogadishu and other urban centers. The group’s use of improvised explosive devices has been a hallmark of its insurgency, and Somali officials have long said that disabling its explosives and propaganda wings is essential to blunting its reach.
Somalia’s federal government has intensified military operations against al-Shabab in recent years, leaning on a mix of national forces, local militias and backing from international partners to pressure the group across multiple fronts. Officials say the campaign aims to reclaim territory, disrupt financing and weaken the leadership cadres that guide both battlefield tactics and recruitment efforts.
The announcement highlights the dual track of Somalia’s current strategy: targeting the technical expertise behind al-Shabab’s bomb-making while also striking at the media ecosystem that sustains its messaging and influence. By naming both Engineer Ismail and Qoorleex, authorities signaled a focus not only on battlefield commanders but also on the nodes that enable the group’s propaganda and operational cohesion.
Further details about the Dec. 10 strike were not immediately released, including the extent of the international support involved. NISA’s statement did not specify whether any additional al-Shabab members were killed or whether the operation caused collateral damage in Jilib, in the Middle Juba region.
The latest strike comes as Somalia’s security services continue to seek high-value targets to sap al-Shabab’s ability to execute complex attacks. While the group remains capable of lethal operations, the government has cast recent offensives as incremental steps toward dismantling its leadership and shrinking its footprint across contested regions.
Authorities urged vigilance as the campaign continues, warning that al-Shabab often responds to leadership losses with retaliatory attacks. They reiterated that cooperation among national forces, local communities and international partners remains central to sustaining pressure on the group.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
