Thursday 22, May 2025 {HMC} Somali security forces killed 45 al-Shabaab terrorists, including the group’s foreman responsible for mortar attacks in Mogadishu since 2023, during counterterrorism operations in the Hiran and Lower Shabelle regions, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday.

The National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) statement said six airstrikes were carried out in the El-Hareeri area of the Hiran region from Tuesday afternoon to early Wednesday, killing 45 “Khawarij fighters, including both leaders and militiamen.”

The Somali government refers to al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, as Khawarij.

Ahmed Mohamud, a security official in the region who spoke with Anadolu over the phone, said the intelligence services used unmanned aerial vehicles to strike a location where the group and its top operatives were hiding.

According to NISA, those killed in the operations included al-Shabaab’s top leader, who has been responsible for mortar attacks in Mogadishu since 2023.

He was killed during a planned operation near Sabib in the Lower Shabelle region.

Somalia has long been plagued by insecurity, with the terrorist groups al-Shabaab and ISIS (Daesh) posing the most serious threats.

Al-Shabaab has been fighting the Somali government for over 16 years, and they frequently target government officials and military personnel.

Mohamed Dhaysane

Thursday 22, May 2025 {HMC} US Navy planes recently launched the largest-ever airstrike from an aircraft carrier, dropping 125,000 pounds of ordnance, a top admiral said this week.

The USS Harry S. Truman and its strike group “launched the largest airstrike in the history of the world — 125,000 pounds — from a single aircraft carrier into Somalia,” Adm. James Kilby, the acting chief of naval operations, said Monday.

A defense official told Business Insider the operation — a single bombing run involving about 16 F/A-18 Super Hornets — occurred on February 1 while the Truman was operating in the Red Sea.

US Africa Command said in February that airstrikes at the start of the month targeted senior ISIS-Somalia leadership in a series of cave complexes. The military assessed that over a dozen terror operatives were killed. Kilby’s comments this week shed more light on the bombardment.

US forces have executed dozens of airstrikes this year against ISIS and the Al Qaeda affiliate group al-Shabaab in Somalia. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence considers both groups a threat to American interests.

The Truman carrier strike group recently left the Red Sea and is participating in NATO maritime exercises in the Mediterranean Sea before heading back to its homeport of Norfolk, Virginia.

The strike group, consisting of the carrier and several other warships, deployed this past fall and spent months operating in the Middle East, where it was a pillar of the US combat operations against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen that were paused earlier this month.

Kilby, speaking at a Council on Foreign Relations event, said the Truman strike group engaged 160 drones and missiles that the Houthis had fired at Israel, the Navy, or shipping lanes. He added that the ships carried out 670 strikes in Yemen, targeting rebel assets.

The munitions used in these engagements could include a mix of surface-to-air missiles, land-attack missiles, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface bombs, and air-launched standoff weapons. Multiple carriers have been a part of operations against the Houthis, expending significant amounts of ordnance to curb the group’s attacks.

“We’ve seen an increase in how the Houthis are acting,” Kilby said. “Sometimes I hear people speak dismissively of them. They’re not China, but they are a threat. And they are hunting our ships.”

The Truman has had an eventful deployment. In December, one of the warships in its strike group accidentally shot down an F/A-18, which is estimated to cost roughly $60 million, over the Red Sea. The military described the engagement as an “apparent case of friendly fire.”

Several weeks later, in mid-February, the Truman collided with a commercial vessel in the Mediterranean. The aircraft carrier suffered some damage, and the incident led to the firing of its commanding officer.

In late April, with the Truman back in the Red Sea, an F/A-18 and a tow tractor fell overboard from the carrier’s hangar bay. A sailor had to jump from the cockpit just before the fighter jet went into the water.

And just over a week later, in early May, an F/A-18 was landing on the flight deck when the Truman’s arresting cables failed, which sent the jet overboard. The two aviators safely ejected and were rescued from the water.

By Jake Epstein

Thursday 22, May 2025 {HMC} Kenya has turned to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to scale the rollout of the contentious Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme amid protests from some of the medics under the project.

On Wednesday, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale requested the global health institution for, among other things, financial support directed towards UHC. In a meeting with WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Duale praised Kenya’s efforts in rolling out the programme that has faced financial challenges over the next the last three years.

Through a statement, Duale disclosed the meeting, which happened on the sidelines of the 78th World Health Assembly, with the CS calling for increased financing from WHO.

“On the sidelines of the 78th World Health Assembly, themed One World for Health,” I held a bilateral meeting with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to deepen Kenya’s collaboration with WHO and advance our national health priorities,” he stated.

“I called for WHO’s support in accelerating UHC, strengthening health financing, and advancing Kenya’s digital health infrastructure to drive data-informed policy,” Duale added.

Even as the health sector, both locally and globally, faces increased challenges due to funding cuts, Duale stressed the need for increased contributions to the WHO. He maintained that sustainable financing was the way to go if the WHO was to achieve its goals.

“We discussed the need for sustainable WHO financing, including increased assessed contributions, to support the goals of the Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW14) for 2025–2028,” Duale noted.

The latest comes as the cash-strapped Health Ministry struggled to absorb UHC workers onto permanent and pensionable terms. Speaking on Sunday, May 18, the CS claimed that the ministry only has Ksh3.5 billion, which is only enough to hire nurses on contracts.

UHC in Kenya aims to ensure all citizens have access to quality and affordable healthcare without financial hardship. Introduced in 2018 under former President Uhuru Kenyatta, the initiative has undergone various reforms and budgetary changes over the years.

Even though it was piloted in 2018, the programme started receiving funding in the 2021/2022 financial year. The health sector received an allocation of Ksh130.4 billion, with Ksh47.7 billion dedicated to UHC activities.

In the following financial year, health was allocated Ksh146.8 billion, the highest ever for the health sector, with Ksh62.3 billion earmarked for UHC. In 2023/2024, the health sector’s budget was Ksh 141.2 billion, with Ksh 18.4 billion allocated to UHC, marking a significant reduction from the previous year.

In the current financial year, the budget for the health sector further decreased to Ksh127 billion, with Ksh4.2 billion dedicated to the coordination and management of UHC.

Cumulatively, the projected cost for full UHC implementation is approximately Ksh550 billion annually, while current health spending stands at about Ksh247 billion.

CS Duale in the recent past maintained that the national government will not backstep in its move to transfer the payslip responsibility of UHC workers from the national government to the county government.

Currently, UHC workers have been camping outside the Ministry of Health offices protesting over the government’s failure to give them permanent employment.

by Walter Ngano