Tuesday September 27, 2022
Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali government forces entered a long-standing Al-Shabaab stronghold in central Hiiraan on Monday evening.
The SNA said that Danab special commando units killed 11 Al Shabaab fighters in an operation near Buq Aqable, a strategic district 40 kilometres west of Buloburte.
The suspected Al Shabaab fighters were travelling in the area when they were intercepted by government forces who destroyed their vehicle.
According to Hassan Mohamed Osman, Deputy Commander of the 16th Battalion of Danab, the country's armed forces carried out a planned operation to flush out Al Shabaab from their safe havens.
The capture of Buq Aqable represents a significant victory in the ongoing war in central Somalia against al-Shabaab. The group has maintained one of its largest military bases, a major court and was home to several leaders and their families.
Hiiraan Governor Ali Jeyte Osman, who has frequently been seen on the frontlines, stated that it was the first time in 13 years that he travelled by land from Beledweyne to Buuloburte.
Government forces and local allied militia have recently liberated several villages in Eastern Hiiraan that had long been Al-Shabaab strongholds.
Nearly two weeks ago, Danab commandos killed 18 Al Shabaab fighters, including senior leaders, during the operation, targeting an Al Shabaab base near Buq Aqable.
The Somali military said troops were fighting to evict Al Qaeda-linked militants from the remaining swaths of rural land controlled by the group in central Hiiraan.
Former Hiiraan governor Abdifitah Hassan Afrah, presently on the front lines with the military, reported that SA units are moving west, intending to reach the Bakool border while liberating towns and villages along the way.