Tuesday 8,July ,2025 {HMC} Heavy fighting broke out on Monday in Moqokori district in the Hiiraan region after al-Shabab militants launched a large-scale assault involving suicide bombings and ground attacks, according to military and local sources.
The militant group targeted the district, located approximately 300 kilometers north of the capital, Mogadishu, using vehicle-borne explosives and hundreds of fighters, said local militia commander Abdulahi Adan.
Adan said local militia forces “tactically retreated” from some positions but emphasized that “sporadic fighting continues in the area, so this is not a complete takeover.”
Moqokori is a strategic town in central Somalia, serving as a gateway to several major towns in Hiiraan. The area has been repeatedly contested over the years, with al-Shabab previously seizing it in 2016 and briefly again in 2018.
Military sources reported that the attack was repelled and claimed that several militants were killed, though specific casualty figures have not been released. Government forces, supported by local clan militias, remain engaged in efforts to secure the town.
The assault on Moqokori comes just months after al-Shabab captured Adan Yabaal in the Middle Shabelle region—a town that had served as a forward operating base for Somali military commanders.
Despite the presence of more than 10,000 troops from the African Union Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), al-Shabab continues to carry out complex and deadly attacks across the country, underscoring the persistent threat the group poses to Somalia’s stability.
Source Hiiraan online
