Tuesday December 20, 2022
Mogadishu (HOL) - The Somali National Army (SNA) said on Monday that 150 al-Shabab militants - including senior leaders - were killed after a week-long operation in the country's Middle Shabelle area.
Al-Shabab militants reportedly sustained significant losses close to Aden Yabal, which used to be the organization's stronghold, before government forces allied with clan militia
pushed them out of the area.
The Somali government said it
uncovered mass graves in Aden Yabal filled with Al Shabaab fighters. The SNA believes Al Shabaab leaders massacred their wounded fighters so government forces would not capture them.
Al Shabaab continued its scorched earth tactics by
destroying wells and homes as they fled.
The Prime Minister and other senior leaders travelled to Aden Yabal this week, promising locals that the federal governmet would
assist in reconstruction efforts.
During the battle for Aden Yabal, Somali forces battling Al Shabaab called in U.S. air strikes to support SNA fighters.
The U.S. military in Africa confirmed it conducted two "collective self-defense" strikes against Al Shabaab on December 14 and 17 in the vicinity of the coastal town of Adale,
killing 15 Al Shabaab fighters.