Senior al-Shabab commander killed in southwestern Somalia: military

Somali National Army (SNA) killed a senior al-Shabab commander in an operation in Bakol region in southwestern Somalia, officials said on Sunday.

Warsame Mahamed Diriye, commander of SNA section 60’s unit nine, told journalists that they had killed a senior al-Shabab leader in an operation conducted on Friday afternoon in the vicinity of Shidle in the country’s southern region of Bakol.

“Our forces killed Aliyow Iman Ibrahim who was a prominent operational commander of al-Shabab extremist in a routine offensive in Bakol region. A member of his staffs also injured in the operation,” the commander said.

He added that one of his soldiers sustained injury during the operation. Residents said they heard the sound of gun fire.

“Somali forces attacked al-Shabab militants in the town; there was a huge gunfire in the area,” Said Haji, a resident, told Xinhua.

Somali forces backed by African Union Mission in Somalia intensified operations on al-Shabab extremists in central and southern Somalia, conducting consecutive offensives to drive the militants out of these regions.

Al-Qaida affiliated group al-Shabab did not comment on the latest incident.