Somalia forces kill 28 Al-shabaab militants in twin security operations

Somalia’s security forces have killed 28 Al-Shabaab militants, including a senior commander, during two separate counterterrorism operations in the country’s central regions, according to the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA).

In a statement issued on Tuesday, NISA said the operations targeted militant hideouts in Masaajid Ali Gaduud in the Middle Shabelle region and Buq-aqable in the Hiraan region after intelligence reports indicated that fighters were gathering to plan attacks.

Somalia has intensified military operations against Al-Shabaab in recent years, combining ground offensives, intelligence-led raids and airstrikes in a bid to weaken the group’s operational capacity and reclaim territory under militant control.

According to the agency, intelligence had revealed that about 70-armed Al-Shabaab militants had assembled approximately three kilometres south of Masaajid Ali Gaduud and were preparing operations aimed at destabilising security in Middle Shabelle.

Following confirmation of the intelligence, NISA forces, working alongside international partners, launched a coordinated operation that resulted in the deaths of 23 militants.

“Intelligence received by NISA indicated that approximately 70 militants were gathered in an area three kilometres south of Masaajid Ali Gaduud, who were armed with various weapons and were carrying out operations to disrupt security in the Middle Shabelle region,” the agency said.

“Upon confirmation of this information, NISA forces and international partners carried out a planned operation that killed 23 militants.”

In a separate operation conducted in Buq-aqable, security forces killed five additional militants, including a senior Al-Shabaab operative identified as Abdirahman Abdi Mutallib, also known as Abdi Mutallib.

NISA described Mutallib as a key figure responsible for coordinating bomb attacks in the Hiraan region.

“The second operation resulted in the killing of five conspirators and a leader named Abdirahman, whose pseudonym was Abdi Mutallib, who was the leader of the Khawarij bombings in Hiran region,” the agency said, using the term “Khawarij” to refer to Al-Shabaab militants.

The latest operations form part of Somalia’s ongoing campaign against Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group that has waged a violent insurgency against the Somali government for more than a decade.

The militant group continues to stage attacks targeting government institutions, security forces, civilians and international partners despite sustained military offensives by Somali forces and allied troops.

The announcement comes nearly three months after Somali authorities reported the killing of another senior Al-Shabaab commander believed to have orchestrated several high-profile attacks in Mogadishu and other parts of the country.

In March, 2026, NISA confirmed the death of a militant leader operating under multiple aliases, including Kamaludin Yunis Mohamed, during an operation in the Hantiwadaag area of Lower Shabelle.

The operation was carried out by the Somali National Armed Forces with support from Ugandan troops serving under the African Union peace support mission in Somalia.

At the time, NISA described the commander as a central figure behind several deadly attacks, including the October 2025 assault on Godka Jilacow Prison, the July 2025 suicide bombing at Jaalle Siyaad Military Academy, and the December 2025 attack on the General Dhega-Badan Training School.

Authorities said he directly supervised and coordinated terrorist cells responsible for executing the attacks.