MOGADISHU, July 5 (Xinhua/GNA) – Somali security forces killed eight al-Shabaab militants, during an operation in the Middle Shabelle region on Saturday, disrupting a network involved in bomb-making and the planning of attacks.
The National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said, the sting operation also eliminated al-Shabaab leaders from the group’s mine and mortar attack units.
NISA said the operation targeted an al-Shabaab gathering place along the riverbank outside Basra, killing Ahmed Eybka Aalim, the leader of a mine and 107 mm mortar attack unit. Seven other militants were also killed in the operation.
“These operations are part of ongoing efforts to dismantle al-Shabaab and disrupt networks that plan terrorist attacks,” NISA said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
The intelligence agency urged citizens to use its established hotlines to share information on al-Shabaab and ISIS activities.
GNA