Sabti 26-Octo-2024 {HMC} Somali National Army (SNA) forces, supported by Jubbaland Dervishes, killed a senior al-Shabab leader in a planned operation in northern Lower Jubba on Friday, according to government sources.

The joint military operation targeted al-Shabab members gathering in the Dharkeen Urur and Orgiyow areas of Lower Jubba region.

Among those killed was Mohamud Ali Hussein, known within al-Shabab by the alias “Qayliyow.” He was reportedly responsible for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and coordinating landmine placements and camp surveys for future attacks.

“Mahamud Ali Hussein, known to locals as ‘Gobe,’ was killed in a strategic operation. As a key figure in the group, he oversaw intelligence, landmines, and targeted attacks, shedding innocent blood in the region,” the Federal Government stated.

The operation follows recent reports from the Somali Defense Ministry that over 95 al-Shabab fighters were killed in separate operations in Middle Shabelle, Galgadud, and the north-central Mudug province.

Sabti 26-Octo-2024 {HMC} Hirshabelle State Council of Ministers approved a $33,558K budget for the 2025 fiscal year on Thursday during a meeting chaired by President Abdullahi Hussein Guudlawe in Bal’ad district.

The Minister of Finance and Economic Development presented the 2025 Budget Allocation Act to the Assembly, noting plans for increasing civil servants within the Hirshabelle Government.

“The Council of Ministers of the Hirshabelle Government has approved $33,557,830 for the 2025 fiscal year,” the Council said in a statement.

The Minister of Security also provided an update on the security situation, highlighting ongoing military operations against al-Shabab. He noted that a new phase of operations is set to launch soon in the Middle Shabelle region.

“The operation to liberate areas in Hirshabelle is progressing well,” the state statement added.

President Guudlawe commended the Council of Ministers for their collaboration and unity, crediting this spirit for recent successes. He also thanked the Bal’ad administration for hosting the Council’s meeting.

Source Hiiraan Online

Sabti 26-Octo-2024 {HMC}  Israel says it has completed a major assault on Iran after more than a year of fighting, which began with an attack by Iranian proxy group Hamas on the Jewish state and has grown into a multi-front conflict directly involving Tehran and its other regional proxies.

In a statement issued early Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said its warplanes safely returned home after conducting “precise and targeted strikes against military targets in a number of areas in Iran.” It issued the statement about four hours after the first reports emerged of explosions in Iran around 2:30 a.m. Tehran time.

“Based on intelligence, Israel air force aircraft struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at Israel over the last year,” the IDF said. “These missiles posed a direct and immediate threat to the citizens of Israel. Simultaneously, the IDF struck surface-to-air missile arrays and additional Iranian aerial capabilities, that were intended to restrict Israel’s aerial freedom of operation in Iran.”

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters that the Israeli airstrikes achieved their objectives but did not immediately provide evidence.

Iranian state news site IRNA quoted the nation’s air defense organization as saying Israel attacked military centers in Tehran and in the western provinces of Khuzestan and Ilam. It said Iranian forces “successfully” intercepted much of the strikes, ensuring they caused only “limited damage.”

Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref was the only senior official to make a public comment about the Israeli attacks early Saturday. He posted a flag of the Islamic Republic on X and wrote: “Iran’s power humiliates the enemies of the motherland.”

Iranian authorities did not provide evidence of interceptions of Israeli airstrikes or damage. But state media cited the Iranian army as saying two soldiers were killed in the Israeli attack.

A senior U.S. administration official told reporters that Israel carried out “precision airstrikes against multiple military targets across Iran and outside populated areas.”

Source VOA NEWS 

Sabti 26-Octo-2024 {HMC}  The United States has approved a potential $2 billion arms sale package to Taiwan, the Pentagon said on Friday, including the delivery for the first time to the island of an advanced air defense missile system battle tested in Ukraine.

The United States is bound by law to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the constant anger of Beijing.

China has been stepping up military pressure against Taiwan, including holding a new round of war games around the island last week, the second time it has done so since Lai Ching-te took office as Taiwan’s president in May.

The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the new sale consisted of $1.16 billion in missile systems and radar systems worth an estimated $828 million. The principal contractor for the missile system will be RTX Corp, the Pentagon said.

“This proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability,” it said in a statement.

“The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region.”

The missile system sale is for three National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) medium-range air defense solutions that includes the advanced AMRAAM Extended Range surface to air missiles, it added.

The NASAMS system has been battle tested in Ukraine and represents a significant increase in air defense capabilities that the United States is exporting to Taiwan as demand for the system surges.

A U.S. government source told Reuters on condition of anonymity that NASAMS was a new weapon for Taiwan, with Australia and Indonesia the only others in the region currently operating it.

Taiwan’s defense ministry welcomed the announcement, noting the “proven” use of NASAMS in Ukraine and saying it would help Taiwan’s air defense capabilities in the face of China’s frequent military maneuvers.

Taiwan’s military is bolstering its armaments to be able to better face any attack from China, including building its own submarines to defend vital maritime supply lines.

China detests Lai as a “separatist” and has rebuffed his repeated calls for talks. Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

China’s government on Saturday kept up its attacks on Lai, denouncing comments he made on Friday on a sensitive frontline island about how no “external force” can change Taiwan’s future.

“There can be no future for ‘Taiwan independence’. The future of Taiwan lies in the complete reunification of the motherland,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement.

Source VOA

Sabti 26-Octo-2024 {HMC} Russian missile strikes killed three people including a child in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro while a teenager and another person died in attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region, officials said Saturday.

Overnight strikes on Dnipro wounded 19 others and damaged multiple buildings, said Sergiy Lysak, the governor of the central Dnipropetrovsk region.

A two-story residential building was destroyed, he said.

Images shared by Lysak showed rescuers working in a pile of rubble, while another showed what appeared to be a hospital room with its windows blown out.

“Three people were killed in Dnipro, including a child. Nineteen were injured, four of them children. Eight are hospitalized,” Lysak said.

Separate night attacks on the capital Kyiv and surrounding region left two people dead, including a teenage girl who was killed in a drone strike, according to regional authorities.

Ukrainian cities including Kyiv have been subjected to deadly drone and missile attacks throughout Russia’s invasion.

Kyiv has been asking for more air defenses from its allies ahead of what is likely to be its toughest winter yet, as Moscow ramps up strikes on energy infrastructure.

Source VOA