Monday 21,July 2025 {HMC} Somali national army troops, backed by allied clan militias, have killed more than 15 al-Shabaab fighters, including key operatives, in recent military operations across four regions: Galgaduud, Lower Shabelle, Lower Juba, and Middle Shabelle.
The spokesperson for Somalia’s Ministry of Defense, Abukar Macalin, said on Sunday that several leaders of the militant group were among those killed, including a senior figure identified as Ibrahim Abdirahman Sanbuur. Sanbuur was killed in the Harboole area of the Lower Juba region.
“In the latest offensives, the national forces, in coordination with local fighters, inflicted significant casualties on the Khawarij,” said Macalin, using a term commonly used by the government to refer to al-Shabaab. “An operation in the Xiingaduud area—located between Amara and Qodqod—resulted in the deaths of 11 Khawarij militants. The operation was successfully executed as planned.”
He added that additional militants were killed in the Mido and Harboole areas of Lower Juba. Among them was Sanbuur, a longtime member of the group believed to have joined al-Shabaab in 2010.
Macalin commended the ongoing cooperation between Somali security forces and local communities, praising their shared efforts in dismantling al-Shabaab’s influence in parts of the country.
“These achievements reflect the strong partnership between our forces and the people. Together, they continue to weaken the Khawarij in every region they operate,” he said.
The Somali government has stepped up military operations targeting al-Shabaab strongholds in central and southern Somalia as part of a broader campaign to restore stability and reclaim territory.
Source Hiiran online
