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Founding al-Shabaab member killed in Middle Jubba airstrike


Monday October 27, 2025


FILE -  Al-Shabaab fighter patrolling in southern Somalia. The Somali Ministry of Defence announced that a founding member of the militant group, Mahmoud Abdi Hamud, also known as Jaafar Gurey, was killed in a precision airstrike in Middle Jubba on October 26, 2025. (Photo: DR)

Mogadishu (HOL) — A senior al-Shabaab commander and founding member of the militant group was killed in a Somali government airstrike in Middle Jubba, the Defence Ministry announced Monday.

The ministry said the strike, conducted on the night of October 26, targeted Bu’aale, a known militant stronghold, and killed Mahmoud Abdi Hamud, widely known as Jaafar Gurey.

Officials said Gurey was among al-Shabaab’s earliest members and played a key role in shaping its intelligence and financial operations.
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According to the Defence Ministry, Gurey also worked closely with former leader Ahmed Abdi Godane to extort funds from an Ethiopian company, which were later used to finance the group’s formation and expansion.  Gurey held multiple leadership positions within the militant group.

“Over the years, he held several senior positions within the group, including Head of External Security, Head of Leadership Security, and Head of Intelligence Tracking — all roles tied to the group’s espionage, operational planning, and brutal assassination activities,” the ministry said.

The strike is part of an offensive led by Somali forces, backed by ATMIS and other international partners, to dismantle al-Shabaab’s command structure and reclaim territory in the country’s southern and central regions.
In September, Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) announced the killing of senior al-Shabaab leader Abdi Hiiray and two other commanders in the Mokhakori district. Earlier that month, NISA and its allies killed Mohamed Abdi Dhiblawe, accused of orchestrating a March attack on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s convoy in Mogadishu.
Al-Shabaab, which has waged a violent insurgency against Somalia’s federal government for more than 16 years, continues to carry out bombings and assassinations targeting security forces, officials, and civilians.
 

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