Ring leaders of the Al-Shabaab militant group have been arrested in a joint security operation conducted by Somali and African Union peacekeeping mission forces in Diinsoor town. Diinsoor District Commissioner, Ibrahim Mohamed told journalists on Wednesday that the Al-Shabaab leaders were netted during a home to home security search carried out in the area.
“Somali National Army with support from AMISOM conducted a joint security operation against Al-Shabaab group here in Diinsoor. We arrested two ring leaders and recovered weapons during the operation. We believe they were planning to carry out an attack,” Mohamed explained that the operation was aimed at ensuring total security in Diinsor District. The suspects, who are being held in custody, will be interrogated with a view to squeeze more information from them, which may lead to the arrest of their colleagues who are still at large.
Government and regional leaders have vowed to conduct a major operation against Al-Shabaab in the area. The group has previously engaged the AU peacekeepers and the Somali government in lethal attacks, especially in regions bordering Kenya. Over the last three years, though, Al-Shabaab has lost control of key towns in the south and central Somalia. Nonetheless, the militants still execute deadly bomb attacks in the main towns of Somalia including in the capital of Mogadishu.