Airstrike Kills 18 Al-Shabaab Fighters in Hiiraan as Military Pledges to Intensify Operations

MOGADISHU (SONNA): The Somali National Armed Forces, in coordination with international partners, conducted a planned airstrike on 21 July targeting an Al-Shabaab hideout in the Suullaay area, approximately 17 kilometres south of Teedaan in the Hiiraan region, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

According to the Ministry, the operation killed 18 Al-Shabaab fighters and left 21 others seriously injured. The strike also destroyed a technical vehicle used by the group, along with its positions and defensive fortifications in the area. The Somali-language version of the Ministry's statement described the target as a hideout in which the group's fighters had been sheltering.

The Ministry commended what it called the professionalism, bravery and dedication of the Somali National Armed Forces, and expressed its appreciation to international partners for their continued cooperation and support in the effort against Al-Shabaab and in strengthening security across Somalia. It did not identify the partners involved in the operation.

The Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces Command reaffirmed their commitment to intensifying operations targeting Al-Shabaab positions and operational capabilities, while continuing, in the statement's words, to prioritise the protection of civilians and the preservation of peace and stability throughout the country.

The strike is the latest in a series of operations the government has announced against the group in recent weeks, reaching across several regions. Earlier this month, the Ministry confirmed the death of Maalin Jinow Ibrahim, a member of Al-Shabaab's leadership council, in a precision operation in Lower Shabelle, disclosed only after his death had been verified. In the Middle Jubba region, the army's elite Danab commandos entered and cleared underground hideouts used by the group in the area of Jilib. The Hiiraan strike extends that pattern into a region that has long stood among the central fronts of the campaign, where the army and local communities have together contested the group's presence for years.

Taken together, the operations reflect the approach the government has described throughout the campaign, sustained pressure on the group's leadership, its fighting positions and its freedom of movement, delivered through a combination of ground operations and intelligence-led strikes conducted with international partners. The Ministry's practice of announcing results only once verified, as with the Lower Shabelle operation, and its repeated emphasis on the protection of civilians, form part of the same discipline.

The campaign continues, and its progress will be measured over time in the districts where the group's presence recedes and ordinary life returns. For now, the Ministry's statement records another engagement in that longer effort, an Al-Shabaab position in Hiiraan found, struck and destroyed, and a commitment restated that the operations against the group will not slow.