al Shabaab militants - The African Mirror

Jan

2024

Four Ukrainians on UN helicopter that was seized by Somali militants

FOUR Ukrainians were on a United Nations helicopter seized by al Shabaab militants in central Somalia this week, Ukraine's foreign ministry said. The U.N.-contracted chopper with nine aboard was conducting a medical evacuation when a technical problem forced it to land near Hindhere village, an area controlled by the Islamist group. "Our citizens were members of the helicopter crew of the UN Mission in Somalia ... Their identities have been established," Ukrainian spokesman Oleh Nikolenko wrote on Facebook. He said the aircraft belonged to a private Ukrainian company contracted to the United Nations, and that the government was contacting it to…

Jan

2024

By ABDI SHEIKH

Somalia says it’s working to rescue hostages from UN helicopter

NEWS

SOMALIA'S government is working to rescue the passengers of a U.N. helicopter that was captured by al Shabaab militants, a spokesperson said, but military officers said it would be difficult to access the area where they were taken. The U.N.-contracted helicopter was conducting an air medical evacuation when a technical problem forced it to make an emergency landing near Hindhere village in central Somalia, an area controlled by the militants. Two Somali men and several foreigners were on board, and many were taken hostage by the militants, two officers told Reuters. It was not clear exactly how many were captured and whether…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

UN helicopter carrying ‘several’ foreigners captured by al Shabaab in Somalia

NEWS

AL Shabaab militants captured a United Nations helicopter carrying two Somali men and several foreigners when it made an emergency landing in an area controlled by the Islamist group, a military official said. The aircraft encountered a defect shortly after taking off from Beledweyne city in central Somalia, Major Hassan Ali told Reuters, before it landed near Hindhere village, bordering Galguduud region. "Two Somali men and several foreigners were onboard. It was also carrying medical supplies and it was supposed to transport injured soldiers from Galguduud region," he said. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) later confirmed there…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Kenya to delay re-opening Somali border over “wave of attacks”

NEWS

KENYA will delay re-opening its border with Somalia because of a "wave of attacks" it blames on al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants, interior minister Kithure Kindiki said. In May the two governments agreed to reopen within 90 days several border posts including Mandera, Liboi, and Kiunga, which have been closed since 2011 when Kenya sent its forces into southern Somalia to help fight al Shabaab. Advertisement · Scroll to continue More than a dozen people have been killed along their shared border in the last month, part of what security analysts say are ongoing efforts by al Shabaab to pressure Kenya into withdrawing its…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Somalia’s neighbours to launch new operations against al Shabaab militants

NEWS

TOP leaders of Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya agreed to begin "search and destroy" operations to push al Shabaab militants out of neighbouring Somalia. The move follows an intensified offensive by Somalia's federal government against the al-Qaeda-affiliated group over the past few months. It has taken back control of several towns and villages in central Somalia with the help of the U.S. military, allied clan militias and forces belonging to Somali regional governments. Kenya's President William Ruto, Djibouti's President Ismail Omer Guelleh and Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met their Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Mogadishu to review measures to…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Al Shabaab attack Somali military base, 10 soldiers killed

NEWS

ABDI SHEIKH At least 10 soldiers were killed when Somalia's al Shabaab militants assaulted a military base in the central Galgaduud region, a military officer said, days after government forces said they had regained control of the area. The army eventually pushed the militants out of the base in Qayib, a village captured from al Shabaab last week, defence ministry spokesperson Abdullahi Ali Anod told the state news agency SONNA. Major Mohamed Farah, a military officer in the nearby town of Bahdo, said 10 soldiers and 20 al Shabaab fighters were killed. "Our forces are now pursuing the al Shabaab…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

U.S. says it killed two al Shabaab militants in Somalia airstrike

NEWS

THE U.S. military said it had killed two fighters from the al Shabaab militant group in an airstrike in a remote part of Somalia's southern Jubaland state on Sunday. The United States has been carrying out air strikes in Somalia to try to defeat al Shabaab, an al Qaeda franchise seeking to implement its interpretation of Islamic law and overthrow the country's Western-backed central government. The strike took place near Libikus in the Lower Juba region, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a statement late on Monday. "The command's initial assessment is that two al Shabaab terrorists were killed in…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. military carries out second strike in Somalia

NEWS

THE U.S. military said it carried out an airstrike yesterday against al Shabaab militants in Somalia, in the second such action this week. The Pentagon said the strike took place in the vicinity of Galmudug, Somalia, and emphasized that no U.S. forces were accompanying Somali troops during the operation. It came just three days after a similar U.S. strike targeting the al Qaeda-linked Islamist group, which is seeking to topple the Somali government and impose its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. "U.S. forces are authorized to conduct strikes in support of combatant commander designated partner forces under collective self-defense,"…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. military carries out air strike in Somalia

WORLD

THE United States yesterday carried out an air strike against al Shabaab militants in Somalia, the first strike in the country since President Joe Biden came into office. Al Qaeda-linked insurgent group al Shabaab is seeking to topple the government and establish its own rule in Somalia based on its own strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. In a statement, the Pentagon said the strike took place near Galkayo, Somalia. While the United States has frequently carried out air strikes in Somalia against al Shabaab, this was the first since Jan. 20 when Biden took office. The group's campaign of…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Al Shabaab militants storm Somali jail, seven soldiers killed

NEWS

ABDIQANI HASSAN AT least seven soldiers were killed when fighters of the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab stormed a jail in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland early on Friday, police and the group said. Al Shabaab said it had freed at least 400 prisoners, many of them its members, in its assault on the main prison in Bosaso, Puntland's largest city, in the early hours of Friday. The authorities did not confirm that figure. "Last night many well-armed men attacked us from various directions. We fought back but finally they entered the central jail by force using explosions. They freed…