Senior Al-Shabaab leader surrenders

Colonel Mohamed Osman, alias Timadde, the commander of the Somali National Army in Bakol, said Monday that a senior Al-Shabaab leader had surrendered.

The Al-Shabaab official, named Bashan Ali Hassan but better known by his fellow militants as Mohamed Ali, reportedly led Al-Shabaab operations in Lower Shabelle and Bakol.

“An emir within Al-Shabaab’s Amniyaat (security unit) surrendered to the government side on Sunday afternoon,” said Col Osman.

He added, “The guy hails from (the) Bakol region, but he mainly led anti-government missions in (the) Lower Shabelle region,” adding that he planned and executed bombing operations against the troops serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom).

“He was involved in attacks and bombings against Amisom troops between Mogadishu and Afgoye district (30 km west of the capital),” said the colonel, talking from the town of Hudur on Mogadishu Radio, a state-run broadcaster.

Col Osman added that the Al-Shabaab official was also involved in an ambush against a Somali government convoy which the governor of Lower Shabelle, Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur Sidee, survived.

“This officer seems to have a wealth of information, thus, we are going to surrender him to the security agency,” said Col Osman.

MORE ATTACKS

On the other hand, the man in charge of Al-Shabaab operations in Mogadishu, Sheikh Ali Mohamed Hussein, promised more attacks on hotels in Mogadishu, especially those frequented by Somali government officials.

He made the statement on al-Anadalus, an Al-Shabaab-run broadcaster, on Sunday.

The hardliner cleric made the threatening statement a day after militants loyal to the Al-Qaeda-linked movement bombed and stormed Maka-al-Mukarrama hotel in the city on Friday and Saturday, killing more than a dozen people, including the Somali ambassador to Switzerland.

“We are committed to continuing attacks on the hotels. Thus, we are warning owners to refrain from offering services to people serving with the government,” said Hussein.

In response, Somalia’s National Security Minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed urged the hotel management to take extra security measures.

Although Al-Shabaab abandoned all its fixed positions in Mogadishu in 2011, the group still uses hostile tactics such as assassinations, hit-and-run attacks, improvised explosives and suicide missions to target it perceived enemies.