Further Details Emerge on Danab Operation in Bay

Mogadishu, (SONNA) — Further details have emerged regarding a planned operation conducted by the Somali National Armed Forces’ Danab Commandos in Buula-Fulaay, Bay Region, on 4 September 2026, in which 14 Al-Shabaab members were killed.

Among those killed were five senior figures identified as Bishaar Mohamed Mukhtar (Sheikh Bishaar), the group’s self-appointed Qadi for Gedo; Ali Nur Mohamed Idris, a battalion commander; Hussein Hassan Dahir (Lahelow), a regional unit commander; Nur Abdullahi Hashi (Sudeysi), the explosives commander in Bay; and Omar Hassan Hussein, a member of the group’s explosives wing.

The operation also seriously wounded Jafar Abu Hamza, Al-Shabaab’s so-called governor of Bay Region, and Hassan Ibrahim, a member of the group’s extortion and illicit revenue collection wing.

The operation represents a significant blow to Al-Shabaab’s leadership and operational and explosives networks in Bay Region.