al- Shabaab commander Hussein Moallim Hassan, also known as Magaalabeen had been killed in a joint military operation over the weekend, senior officials announced on Monday.
During a press conference in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi said Magaalabeen was killed during airstrikes by Somali security forces and international partners in Southwest state on Sunday.
Magaalabeen, one of al-Shabaab’s most wanted leaders, had been with the group for more than 15 years and was a central figure in planning and executing attacks across multiple regions, including Hiiraan, Middle and Lower Shabelle, Mudug, Galgaduud, Bay, Bakool, and Gedo.
During his time with the group, he held several senior positions, including operational commander in Bay, Bakool, and Gedo regions, head of taxation in Bakool, chief of intelligence in the Shabelle regions and Hiiraan, and deputy to Fu’ad Mohamed Shangole, al-Shabaab’s propaganda and indoctrination chief.
According to Fiqi, the strike hit a hut inside a farm in the Sabiyo area, between the districts of Afgooye and Basra in the Lower Shabelle region, where the militant leader was staying under the protection of al-Shabaab fighters.
Fiqi said the commander played a key role in directing the group’s military operations, overseeing its extortion network, coordinating attacks and serving as a close senior adviser to al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Diriye, also known as Abu Ubaidah.
He accused Magaalabeen of overseeing attacks and abuses in the regions of Bay, Bakool, Hiraan and Galgaduud, including killings, the forced recruitment of children, the seizure of weapons from local communities and the intimidation of traditional elders.
The defense minister said the government confirmed the militant’s death through intelligence indicating he had been killed in the strike.
He said the operation was part of Somalia’s campaign to target al-Shabaab’s senior leadership, adding that several top commanders had been killed in recent years and that military operations against the group would continue until all of its senior leaders are eliminated.
MG/as/APA