militants

Friday March 27, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — More than 40 al-Shabab militants were killed on Thursday when the group tried to reclaim a town recently taken in southern Somalia, according to officials. The African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) said the clashes broke out in Mubarak, a strategically placed settlement in the Lower Shabelle region that joint forces from the Somali National Armed Forces and African Union troops seized earlier this month. According to AUSSOM, militants launched an attack on…

Thursday March 26, 2026 Nairobi (AX) — An intelligence-driven security operation near Kenya’s border with Somalia left two suspected al-Shabab militants dead and several others wounded, police said Tuesday, as authorities tightened precautions ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday period. The Counter Terrorism Policing Unit said officers from the elite Special Operations Group (SOG) conducted the operation on the outskirts of Sarira in Mandera County, days before Eid al-Fitr celebrations last week on Friday. According to a…

AL-MISKAD MOUNTAINS, Somalia — On a windswept ridge overlooking a maze of limestone caves, Puntland State Defence Forces soldiers huddle around a hand-held screen, tracking a lone figure sprinting through a chalky valley. “He has been to fetch water for his friends,” one says, as the dot moves toward a suspected hideout. Another adds: “He is running and carrying something on his back.” The suspected cave network below, commanders say, shelters 50 to 60 Islamic State group fighters. It is one node in a stubborn insurgency…

Somalia says NISA raids kill more than 40 Al-Shabaab militants in Hiiraan, Lower Shabelle MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), working with international partners, said Saturday it killed more than 40 Al-Shabaab militants in coordinated counterterrorism operations in the central Hiiraan region and the southern Lower Shabelle region. NISA said the first raid unfolded in the Waab-Weyn and Isgoyska Madashyo-Weyn areas under Mahaas district in Hiiraan, targeting fighters the agency…

Somalia’s NISA says weeklong raids kill more than 23 Al‑Shabaab militants in Hiiraan, Middle Shabelle MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency said Tuesday it killed more than 23 Al‑Shabaab militants during a weeklong series of operations across the Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions, saying the raids targeted cells preparing attacks in several districts of Hirshabelle State. NISA said the strikes, conducted in coordination with international partners, followed actionable intelligence…

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. 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…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali government forces, backed by international partners, have killed at least 150 Al-Shabab militants in more than two weeks of operations in the Middle Shabelle region, Defense Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi said Tuesday. Fiqi said the campaign concentrated on the Jabad Godane area and surrounding settlements, which he described as a strategic militant hub. He said the dead included six senior commanders of the al-Qaida-linked group. “By the grace of God and the bravery of the National Army, and with…

Somalia says 250 al-Shabab fighters killed in foiled assault on Kudhaa Island Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026 MOGADISHU — Somali officials said Sunday that about 250 al-Shabab militants were killed in a failed bid to overrun Kudhaa, a coastal town on an island in the Lower Juba region, in one of the deadliest reported setbacks for the group in recent months. Hassan Nur Abdi, the governor of Badhaadhe district, which includes Kudhaa Island, said government and allied forces repelled a coordinated assault and launched pursuit operations…

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s Council of Ministers on Thursday praised the national army and said more than 130 al-Shabab militants were killed during a 24-hour battle that repelled a major assault on the coastal town of Kudhaa in the Lower Juba region. Officials described the operation as a decisive security victory, saying government troops thwarted what they called a desperate attempt by the al-Qaida-linked group to seize the strategic town. Authorities said the swift response prevented civilian casualties and restored stability…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s Council of Ministers on Thursday praised the Somali Armed Forces for killing more than 130 al-Shabab militants during a 24-hour operation that repelled a major attack on the coastal town of Kudhaa in the Lower Juba region. In a statement, the Cabinet called the offensive a decisive security victory, saying government forces thwarted a “desperate attempt” by the al-Qaida-linked group to seize the strategic town. Officials said the swift response prevented civilian casualties and restored…