Senior Al-Shabaab commander killed in Southern Somalia

Senior Al-Shabaab Commander has been killed on Tuesday in operation carried out by Somali forces in Southern Somalia, Somali Defense Ministry said.

Somali National Army (SNA) has launched well orchestrated attack on Al-Shabaab  in the outskirt of K50 area of lower Shabelle region where they killed several fighters including  Al-Shabaab’s chief commander and seized cache of weapons, according deputy Defense Minister, Abdalla Hussein Ali who spoke to SONNA.

Ali said 13 Al-Shabaab fighters were also killed but he did mention the casualties on Somali forces.

“The Senior Al-Shabaab Commander was among those killed in the operation,  the troops also destroyed technical vehicle owned by Al-Shabaab and some weapons recovered by SNA today”, Mr. Ali said.

SNA  backed by the AU  Troops has stepped up its operation against A-Shabaab fighters ahead of Somalia’s upcoming elections scheduled to take place at end of this year.

Al Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping forces in 2011 but has remained a potent antagonist in Somalia, launching frequent attacks in its bid to overthrow the Western-backed government.

Al Shabaab was also behind deadly attacks in Kenya and Uganda, which both contribute troops to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.