A top suicide bomb-maker for
Somalia’s Shebab rebels has been killed in a
drone strike, government officials said Tuesday
after the latest attack by US forces against the Al-
Qaeda-linked group. Residents near the site of the strike in southern
Somalia reported at least three people were in the
charred vehicle, which burst into flames shortly
after the sound of an aircraft was heard
overheard. Somali Interior Minister Abdikarin Hussein Guled
told government radio that his intelligence
services had been tracking Ibrahim Ali Abdi, also
known as Anta-Anta, for some time before the
strike took place on Monday. “The operation in which this man has been killed
was very important for the government. This man
had a major role in the death of many innocent
civilians and his death will help in bringing back
peace,” Guled told Radio Mogadishu. The strike came weeks after an audacious attack
on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi claimed by
Shebab in which at least 67 people were killed. The minister did not say who carried out the
drone attack, but an official in Washington said
the US military was responsible. Officials from Somalia’s internationally-backed
government have described the dead militant as
being well-known for making suicide bomber
vests and preparing car bombs used regularly by
the rebels to attack government-held areas. “He was Al-Shebab’s chief suicide bomb-maker,
he was responsible for numerous bomb attacks
which claimed the lives of many Somalis,” said
Ridwan Haji Abdiweli, the prime minister’s
spokesman, adding that the government
welcomed the strike. “It is a victory for the Somali people that such
dangerous individuals should be taken out.” There has been no comment from the Islamists. The missile strike also follows a raid by US Navy
SEALS on the southern port of Barawe in early
October that failed to hit its alleged target: a
senior Shebab militant leader and Kenyan of
Somali origin called Abdulkadir Mohamed
Abdulkadir, also known as Ikrima. Barawe is a key Shebab training centre
specialising in preparing suicide attack squads,
according to a United Nations monitoring report
earlier this year. An American official, speaking on condition of
anonymity in Washington, said Monday that the
latest missile attack was a drone strike conducted
by the US army. The source did not specify where
the drone was launched, but the US army
operates the devices from bases in Djibouti and Arba Minch in southern Ethiopia. The Shebab have been driven out of Somalia’s
major towns, including the capital Mogadishu and
the key southern port of Kismayo, by a UN-
mandated African Union force that now numbers
17,700 men. However the group still controls large swathes of
southern Somalia and has over the past few
months stepped up the scale of its suicide
attacks, including storming a UN compound in
Mogadishu in June. The AU force has requested its size be boosted by
a quarter to 23,000 troops. UN Monitoring Group reports earlier this year
estimated the Shebab are still some 5,000 strong,
and remain the “principal threat to peace and
security to Somalia”. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier this
month warned that “military gains against Al-
Shebab that have been achieved in recent years
are at serious risk of being reversed”.
Somalia’s Shebab rebels has been killed in a
drone strike, government officials said Tuesday
after the latest attack by US forces against the Al-
Qaeda-linked group. Residents near the site of the strike in southern
Somalia reported at least three people were in the
charred vehicle, which burst into flames shortly
after the sound of an aircraft was heard
overheard. Somali Interior Minister Abdikarin Hussein Guled
told government radio that his intelligence
services had been tracking Ibrahim Ali Abdi, also
known as Anta-Anta, for some time before the
strike took place on Monday. “The operation in which this man has been killed
was very important for the government. This man
had a major role in the death of many innocent
civilians and his death will help in bringing back
peace,” Guled told Radio Mogadishu. The strike came weeks after an audacious attack
on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi claimed by
Shebab in which at least 67 people were killed. The minister did not say who carried out the
drone attack, but an official in Washington said
the US military was responsible. Officials from Somalia’s internationally-backed
government have described the dead militant as
being well-known for making suicide bomber
vests and preparing car bombs used regularly by
the rebels to attack government-held areas. “He was Al-Shebab’s chief suicide bomb-maker,
he was responsible for numerous bomb attacks
which claimed the lives of many Somalis,” said
Ridwan Haji Abdiweli, the prime minister’s
spokesman, adding that the government
welcomed the strike. “It is a victory for the Somali people that such
dangerous individuals should be taken out.” There has been no comment from the Islamists. The missile strike also follows a raid by US Navy
SEALS on the southern port of Barawe in early
October that failed to hit its alleged target: a
senior Shebab militant leader and Kenyan of
Somali origin called Abdulkadir Mohamed
Abdulkadir, also known as Ikrima. Barawe is a key Shebab training centre
specialising in preparing suicide attack squads,
according to a United Nations monitoring report
earlier this year. An American official, speaking on condition of
anonymity in Washington, said Monday that the
latest missile attack was a drone strike conducted
by the US army. The source did not specify where
the drone was launched, but the US army
operates the devices from bases in Djibouti and Arba Minch in southern Ethiopia. The Shebab have been driven out of Somalia’s
major towns, including the capital Mogadishu and
the key southern port of Kismayo, by a UN-
mandated African Union force that now numbers
17,700 men. However the group still controls large swathes of
southern Somalia and has over the past few
months stepped up the scale of its suicide
attacks, including storming a UN compound in
Mogadishu in June. The AU force has requested its size be boosted by
a quarter to 23,000 troops. UN Monitoring Group reports earlier this year
estimated the Shebab are still some 5,000 strong,
and remain the “principal threat to peace and
security to Somalia”. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier this
month warned that “military gains against Al-
Shebab that have been achieved in recent years
are at serious risk of being reversed”.
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