Wednesday 26,Febr-2025 {HMC} Somali intelligence forces destroyed a convoy of explosives-laden vehicles belonging to the Al-Shabab militant group in an air and ground operation in the Middle Shabelle region, authorities said Tuesday.
The National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), working with international partners, targeted the convoy in the Sigato and Labi Aw-Xasan areas between the Ruun-Nirgood and Al-Kowther districts.
The vehicles, which were reportedly preparing for an attack, were destroyed, and the militants escorting them were neutralized, according to a NISA statement.
Security officials said the extremists had planned to use one of the car bombs to target mosques in El Cali Axmed. Al-Shabab has previously attacked religious sites, including mosques in Daaru-Nimca, Buula-Burte, Baxdo, and Qaayib.
The operation is part of an ongoing counterterrorism campaign to dismantle militant networks and prevent attacks on civilian and religious sites. Somali security forces have intensified efforts to track and eliminate insurgent threats across the country.
The strike comes a day after Somali government forces killed more than 70 Al-Shabab militants, including senior commanders, in Middle Shabelle and Hiiraan regions. That operation, which involved airstrikes and ground assaults, targeted militant hideouts in Adow-Guray in Hiiraan, as well as El Cali Axmed and Al-Kowther in Middle Shabelle.
