Security officials in the Somali town of Afgoye say they are not aware of the presence of pro-Islamic State militants in the town, despite a series of social media posts by the group claiming responsibility for attacks in the area.
Afgoye police commander Captain Abdulkadir Osman Mursal says attacks against civilians in Afgoye are carried out by the al-Shabab militant group and not “Daesh,” but says police are “on alert and investigating the claims.”
“Daesh and al-Shabab are the same to us, they both kill civilians,” he said.
Pro-Islamic State militants have been claiming responsibility for series of attacks in Afgoye since the second half of last year. One of the attacks in January took place last week with pro-IS militants claiming they killed a finance officer.
In another incident in January, the group said it killed a man who worked for the national intelligence agency of Somalia.