MOGADISHU – The Somali National Army’s elite Danab Commandos conducted a planned overnight operation in the Sablaale district of the Lower Shabelle region, killing seven Al‑Shabaab militants, including a senior commander responsible for coordinating the group’s fighters and operations, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defence and the SNA High Command.
The operation, which targeted militant positions, resulted in the death of seven members of the group. Among the dead was a senior commander who oversaw the organisation and coordination of Al‑Shabaab’s fighters and operations in the area. The forces also destroyed two facilities that were being used by Al‑Shabaab for training and the dissemination of extremist ideology, the statement said.
The Danab commandos have recently intensified operations against Al‑Shabaab in the Lower Shabelle region, dismantling illegal tax collection networks and eliminating active nodes used by the group to extort money from local communities. The commandos have previously destroyed numerous fortified hideouts, tactical outposts, and checkpoints that had long hindered local economic activity and jeopardised security.
Targeting Militant Infrastructure
The Sablaale operation is part of a broader campaign to dismantle Al‑Shabaab’s operational infrastructure in southern Somalia. The Danab Commandos have previously carried out coordinated security operations across Lower Shabelle, focusing on key locations including Basro, Baqdaad, Janbaluul, and adjacent villages in the Afgooye District, where they discovered elaborate tunnel systems and hidden bunkers serving as shelters for militants. After the insurgents abandoned the positions under mounting pressure, the special forces successfully identified and rendered these hideouts unusable.
In a similar operation on February 6, Danab Special Forces, working alongside international partners, executed a precise operation against Al‑Shabaab extremists near Warmaxan in Lower Shabelle, leading to the elimination of two fighters and the apprehension of two others. Security forces also dismantled an Al‑Shabaab roadblock and confiscated a significant quantity of explosives intended for use against civilian populations.
Elite Force at the Forefront
The Danab Brigade, whose name means “lightning” in Somali, was established in October 2013 with the support of U.S. trainers and has grown into a several‑thousand‑person brigade specialising in urban warfare against Al‑Shabaab. The United States has trained and equipped the Danab commandos, who have been at the forefront of the country’s counter‑terrorism operations, conducting multiple high‑intensity raids that have degraded Al‑Shabaab’s operational capacity.
In a major security operation, Danab commandos killed 25 Al‑Shabaab militants during a planned overnight raid in Gaalware village in Lower Shabelle, recovering a cache of weapons including AK‑47 rifles, an RPG‑7 launcher, and a PKM machine gun.
Way Forward
The Ministry of Defence and the Somali National Army High Command have reaffirmed their commitment to sustained operations against Al‑Shabaab, stating that such strikes would continue across all regions where the group maintains a presence. The government has stated that operations will continue until lasting peace and stability are achieved across the country.
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