Shabaab said it would execute French hostage and intelligence agent Denis Allex. Police officials claimed to have detained 1,700 suspected Shabaab members in Mogadishu. Puntland security forces launched an operation in Galgala against Shabaab.
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“With the rescue attempt, France has voluntarily signed Allex’s death warrant,” the terror group said in an official statement. Shabaab later announced he was executed. The French intelligence agent has been held by Shabaab since July 2009.
Shabaab displayed the body and equipment of a French commando who was wounded and captured late last week following a failed hostage rescue in Somalia, and later died. The terror group also said the “fate” of hostage Denis Allex will be announced soon.
The government condemned France’s attempt to free Denis Allex, who is being held by Shabaab. Witnesses in Daaydoog claimed the French troops killed civilians before attempting the rescue, which led Somalis to warn Shabaab of the raid. Shabaab executed two civilians in Jilib.
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French commandos attempted to free Denis Allex, a French intelligence operative captured by Shabaab in 2009. A French soldier was killed and another was captured during the failed raid. Seventeen Shabaab fighters were killed.
French commandos from the General Directorate for External Security attempted to rescue Denis Allex, one of their operatives captured in 2009. The French said they believe Allex was killed in the raid; Shabaab denied the claim.
Two Puntland politicians appear to have been interviewed by two radio outlets affiliated with Shabaab. A judge freed the killer of two foreign medical aid workers who were gunned down in December 2011.
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The American jihadist’s rants against Shabaab indicate a personal feud with the al Qaeda affiliate, and not a wider split between Somali jihadists and foreign fighters.
A UN report shows that increasing cooperation between Somalia’s Shabaab and the Ugandan rebel group Allied Democratic Forces is spreading instability across the region. African Union forces launched a major offensive against Shabaab militants along the Ballidoogle-Leego road, approximately 120 kilometers northwest of Mogadishu.
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Puntland security forces killed three Shabaab fighters while repelling an attack near the Galgala Mountains, a Shabaab stronghold. One soldier was also killed in the fighting. Shabaab fighters killed a woman after opening fire on a wedding ceremony.
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Ugandan troops killed several Shabaab fighters during clashes near Marka. Security forces captured 15 Shabaab fighters in Mogadishu. Nigeria will send 140 police officers to support AMISOM.
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Somali security forces retreated from Bulo-Gudud after Shabaab fighters returned in force. Nine Shabaab suspects were detained in Jowhar. The interior minister gave Shabaab fighters 100 days to surrender.
A group of Shabaab fighters surrendered to Somali officials in the Bay region. Fighting between Somali forces and Shabaab had raged in the region a day earlier. Somali forces have erected a controversial checkpoint at Bar Ismail near the Afgoye district in lower Shabelle.
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Somali pirates released a ship and 22 crew members held captive for 33 months; the vessel was besieged by Puntland maritime police on Dec. 10, and a few days later the police killed three pirates and captured three more. It is unclear if a ransom was paid.
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Somali troops and members of the pro-government elements of the Ras Kamboni Brigade clashed in Kismayo. Eight people, including two Ras Kamboni fighters, were killed during the fighting.
The Ethiopian military indicated that the African Union will expand its operations beyond Jowhar and Beledweyne. The towns of Bulo Burto and Jalalaqsi, which are between the two cities, are still under Shabaab control.
Shabaab gunned down a Somali judge in Baidoa and killed an aid worker in Mogadishu. Piracy off the coast of Somalia has dropped significantly; no ships have been hijacked in the past six months.
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Shabaab dismissed Omar Hammami, the American jihadist who claimed his life was in danger earlier this year, as a narcissist. Somali and African Union troops seized control of Kudha and Madhawa from Shabaab forces. “Gunmen” killed a military officer in Mogadishu.