Sabti june, 08, 2024 (HMC) – At least 16 al-Shabab militants were killed in a foiled terror attack on a Somali military base in El-Dher district in the Galgadud region on Saturday morning.

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The attack began with explosions followed by direct gunfire between the militants and the army forces.

The Somali government stated that the military forces, supported by local clan militias, resisted the attack following a tip-off from residents in the district.

“Sixteen militants were killed in the attack, and the counting of the militants killed is ongoing,” said a statement from the government quoting officers from the National Army.

The militant group al-Shabab claimed they attacked military bases and killed many soldiers but did not specify a number.

However, HMC could not independently verify the claims from either side. Residents contacted by HMC refrained from commenting on the casualties due to security concerns.

Sabti june, 08, 2024 (HMC) – Mystery surrounds the fatal shooting of two hospital construction workers in Dadaab, Garissa County.

Police said they are investigating the Friday night incident that happened as the workers were at a dispensary under construction.

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It is believed the two were killed by al-Shabaab terrorists operating in the area, police said.

They were all non-locals, police who visited the scene said adding they were shot at close range.

The workers had finished the day’s work and were resting in their houses when they were confronted by gunmen at Bogyar trading Centre along the Dadaab-Garissa road.

Police said they are yet to know the motive of the attack.

The bodies were moved to the mortuary pending autopsy and further investigations, police said.

The area is among those facing security challenges due to frequent attacks by al-Shabaab terrorists.

It is near the Kenya-Somalia border. It comes amid ongoing operations to tame the terrorist activities in the region at large.

The government says they have increased operations to address the attacks.

More equipment have also been acquired to enhance the police operations.

The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border which has faced increased cases of terror-related attacks.

Police have also increased their operations in the area thwarting dozens of planned attacks.

A major operation is ongoing in the area to address al-Shabaab-related attacks, which happen because of others, the proximity to the main Kenya-Somalia border.

The terrorists have been attacking places near the Kenyan border by using guns and explosives leaving dozens dead and many injured.

The recent attacks have forced the government to suspend plans to reopen the Kenya-Somalia border.

Somalia has not had a stable government to help in addressing such attacks.

Sabti june, 08, 2024 (HMC) – At least eight people from both sides were killed and ten others wounded in an inter-clan fight in a small village between Heraale and Abudwak districts in the Galgadud region on Saturday.

The conflict occurred in the Landhere area, 20 km from the Hurshe neighbourhood, and involved rival militia forces from the Heraale and Abudwak districts.

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Traditional elders have started efforts to stop the fighting, which has the potential to cause heavy casualties. The Galmudug regional administration did not comment on the renewed clan conflict in central Somalia.

The inter-clan fighting comes just hours after at least 16 al-Shabab militants were killed in a foiled terror attack on a Somali military base in the El-Dher district of the Galgadud region. The attack began with explosions followed by direct gunfire between the militants and the army forces.

Sabti june, 08, 2024 (HMC) – federal appeals court upheld the conviction Friday of a British national for his role in a hostage-taking scheme by the Islamic State group that took roughly two dozen Westerners captive a decade ago.

El Shafee Elsheikh was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2022 in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. His jury trial established that he was one he was one of the notorious “Beatles,” captors nicknamed for their accents and known for torturing and beating prisoners.

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Elsheikh appealed his conviction. He argued that confessions he gave in media interviews after his capture in 2018 should have been tossed out of court. He alleged that the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces tortured him and forced him to conduct the interviews.

Elsheikh’s lawyers also argued that FBI interviews of him while he was in foreign custody violated his constitutional rights. Elsheikh said he was confused by the process, in which he was initially interrogated by investigators with the Department of Defense who did not read him his rights and used the information to gather intelligence.

He was later questioned by FBI agents who did read him his rights and told him that anything he said going forward could be used against him in court.

In both cases, a unanimous three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled against Elsheikh. The judges said the evidence did not support his contention that he was beaten or tortured. And the judges ruled that interrogators followed proper procedures in their two-step interrogation process to inform Elsheikh of his rights.

Elsheikh was one of two “Beatles” brought to the U.S. to face trial. The United Kingdom agreed to the extradition and provided intelligence and evidence to assist with the prosecution after the U.S. promised it would not seek the death penalty.

The other Beatle who faced trial, Alexanda Kotey, pleaded guilty under a deal that provided a possibility he could, after 15 years, serve the remainder of his life sentence in the United Kingdom.

Elsheikh’s convictions revolved around the deaths of four American hostages: James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. All but Mueller were executed in videotaped beheadings circulated online. Mueller was forced into slavery and raped multiple times by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before she was killed.

They were among 26 hostages taken captive between 2012 and 2015, when the Islamic State group controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria.