Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said Sunday that its forces in collaboration with international partners, successfully eliminated two senior Al-Shabab propaganda officials and 14 other militants in coordinated raids across Hirshabelle state as this dealt a major blow to the group’s media and combat operations.
In the first operation in Miirtaqwa, NISA said its forces destroyed a facility the militants called the “Security House,” which was reportedly being used to store equipment for Al-Shabab radio, Al-Shabab’s main propaganda outlet.
The agency identified those killed as Abdisamad Mohamed, as head of Al-Andalus propaganda department and Ali Salad, another member of the group’s media wing. A third militant suffered catastrophic injuries, NISA said.
“The equipment they used in misleading the public was destroyed,” the agency said in its statement. A second operation targeted Tardo in Hiiraan province, where NISA said Al-Shabab fighters were being prepared for deployment to the Goobo and Waabweyn areas to coordinate activities meant to disrupt the security.
14 militants were successfully eliminated and a Toyota Noah vehicle used by the group was destroyed, according to the agency. NISA did not disclose the identities of the international partners involved, nor did it specify exactly when the operations took place. Details on the other militants eliminated were not also released.
