region

Wednesday April 22, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), working with international partners, says it has killed more than 33 al-Shabab militants in a coordinated series of operations in the Guulane area of Middle Shabelle region. In a statement released Tuesday, the agency said the initial strike hit a house where senior members and fighters were gathered, killing 15 militants. NISA said the site was destroyed and had served as an important location for assembling personnel and…

TEL AVIV - Israel on Wednesday named its first ambassador to North Western State of Somalia, the breakaway region of Somalia, in a move certain to deepen a long-running diplomatic dispute. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Michael Lotem has been appointed as a non-resident ambassador to North Western State of Somalia. According to Israel's public broadcaster KAN, Lotem has previously served as ambassador to Kenya, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. Israel announced mutual recognition with North Western State of Somalia in December…

Friday April 10, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali National Army forces, operating alongside international partners, launched an airstrike in Somalia’s Mudug region on Thursday that the Ministry of Defense said killed about 70 al-Shabab fighters and left dozens more wounded. The intelligence-driven strike hit what officials described as a large militant assembly near Tawarmooge, about 8 kilometers south of Aad and 45 kilometers north of Harardhere in central Somalia. In a statement, the ministry said the target was a location…

Monday April 6, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali government forces, supported by international partners, killed 12 al-Shabab fighters in a planned operation near Baidoa and Daynuunay in the Bay region, the Ministry of Defense said Monday. According to the ministry, the strike targeted militant positions around the vital corridor that connects Mogadishu and Baidoa. Several other fighters were wounded in the assault, though officials did not release additional details. The ministry said the mission was part of a wider push to…

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…

A widening Middle East conflict moved closer to a broader confrontation with Iran yesterday after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched their first attacks on Israel since the war began, even as more US forces arrived in the region. Washington has sent thousands of Marines to the Middle East during the month-old conflict. The first of two contingents arrived on Friday aboard an amphibious assault ship, the US military said yesterday. The Washington Post reported that US officials said the Pentagon was preparing for weeks of…

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…

Friday March 27, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) - A fierce clash in southern Somalia left more than 40 al-Shabab militants dead after the group tried to claw back control of a recently captured town, officials said Thursday. The African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), said in a statement that the fighting erupted in Mubarak, a strategic town in the Lower Shabelle region that joint Somali National Armed Forces and African Union troops seized earlier this month. According to AUSSOM, the militants struck a…

Saturday March 21, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Marking Eid al-Fitr on Friday, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud prayed alongside Somali Armed Forces units in Gendershe, the coastal Lower Shabelle town recently wrested back from al-Shabab. He was accompanied by the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) director, top cabinet members, the Somali National Army commander and the national police chief, sharing the holiday with frontline soldiers. In remarks after the prayer, Hassan Sheikh said his government will move…

Roadside bomb kills at least five Puntland State soldiers near Bosaso; ISIS-Somalia suspected BOSASO, Somalia — At least five Puntland State Defense Force soldiers were killed and several others wounded Friday when a roadside bomb struck a military vehicle on the highway linking Bosaso and Dhaadaar in the Al-Khalifa area, security officials said. Local authorities said they believe the attack was carried out by the Islamic State group’s Somalia affiliate, which operates in the mountainous terrain of the Bari region. The…