In a joint drone airstrike near the coastal town of Haramka, Abdullahi Nadir, a top al-Shabab militant in southern Somalia, was killed, according to a Monday (3 October) announcement from the Somali government. Nadir was one of the seven leaders for whom the United States had set a $3 million reward for his capture starting in 2012.
The Somali ministry claims that Nadir previously oversaw finances for the Shura council, a significant advisory body within al-Shabab. The ministry also stated that Ahmed Diriye, the current leader of the al-Qaeda-affiliated group, was expected to step down and be replaced by Nadir. Despite an African Union operation against the group, al-Shabab has been waging a bloody uprising against the Mogadishu government for 15 years and continues to be a potent force. The group still attacks military, governmental, and civilian targets despite being driven out of the capital in 2011.The strike on October 1 occurred a few weeks after Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the recently elected president, promised to wage an all-out war against al-Shabab after the group carried out a number of violent attacks against the populace, including a 30-hour hotel siege in the capital that claimed the lives of 21 people in August of this year. He insisted that civilians avoid areas under al-Shabab control because he intended to step up offensives against the militant organization.
In addition, the US frequently participates in counterterrorism operations alongside Somali and African Union forces and conducts drone strikes on al-Shabab training facilities all over Somalia. At the government of Somalia’s request, the US organized an airstrike last month that resulted in the deaths of 27 al-Shabab fighters close to Bulobarde, a significant city bordering Ethiopia.