Tag Archives: Somalia

The US killed three foreign jihadists, including a Moroccan, in an airstrike in the K60 area south of Mogadishu. The UN approved the expansion of African Union forces to more than 17,000 troops. The AU is approved for 12,000 troops but only 9,000 are currently in country.

Shabaab has withdrawn its forces from Howlaha Guud as Ethiopian and Somali troops advance on the western town of Bardale. Six people were killed in an IED attack in Bardale. Two IEDs were detonated at a base in Baidoa that was formerly used by Shabaab.

Shabaab withdrew from Baidoa after Ethiopian and Somali forces advanced on the city. The terror group also withdrew from Bardale. A Shabaab cleric said that “fathers and mothers must send their unmarried girls to fight alongside the (male) militants.”

Human Rights Watch said that Shabaab “has increasingly targeted children for recruitment, forced marriage, and rape, and attacked teachers and schools.” Puntland security forces detained five suspected Shabaab fighters in Galkayo.

Ten people were killed during fighting between Shabaab and government forces on the road between Mogadishu and Afgoye. Kenyan warplanes struck Shabaab targets in the town of Xhwayo.

Shabaab warned Muslims “to stay away from the enemy bases in order to avoid being unintentional victims” of a newly announced terror campaign in Mogadishu. Somalia’s ambassador to Yemen claimed that more than 500 Shabaab fighters fled Somalia to join al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Shabaab claimed credit for Friday’s car bombing in a police compound; the terror group said the bombing “is part of a new series of attacks that will specifically target the Crusaders & TFG bases in the capital.” Shabaab has deployed hundreds of fighters to the outskirts of Mogadishu.

The Kenyan military killed four Shabaab fighters after being ambushed in Hawina. Shabaab shut down Koran classes in Jowhar and said they’d train the students themselves.

The Somali military said that 14 Shabaab fighters were killed during fighting in Garbaharay. The UN Security Council may vote next week to increase the number of African Union forces by 5,700, to reach 17,700 troops total. Refugees are fleeing the Afgoye area and African Union forces have deployed there.

The Somali military claimed it defeated Shabaab forces at the Afgoye control point near Mogadishu. A spokesman for Shabaab commander Sheikh Mohamed Saeed Atom claimed his forces killed 15 Puntland troops in Sugare north of Bosaso.

Shabaab held rallies in several cities to celebrate its merger with al Qaeda. Burundian troops have advanced to within two miles of Afgoye.

Puntland security forces captured Ahmed Saeed Mohamed, the brother of senior Shabaab leader and weapons smuggler Mohamed Saeed Atom. The spokesman for the Kenya Defence Forces said military operations have reduced Shabaab’s revenues by 75 percent.