US Kills Al-Shabab Leader Maalim Ayman in Special Operations
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Sulaiman
- . December 23, 2023
- . Update: December 23, 2023 12:14 am
The US Special Operations drone strike, in a joint operation, with the Somali national army neutralized Maalim Ayman who was a senior leader of al-Shabab. He was the mastermind of multiple attacks, including the killing of 148 Kenyans and three Americans. Ayman was killed in a US military drone strike on December 17.
As of late the Somalia government has taken effective steps is cracking down on the terrorist group Al Shabab. The east African country has been fighting the extremist militant group since 2006 with forces from Kenya, the US and the African Union.
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has vowed to defeat Al-Shabab militarily and financially. Daud Aweis, Somalia’s Information Minister, said by targeting Maalim Ayman, the government was sending a message that anyone who is responsible for the merciless acts of violence against the Somali people has to be punished or brought to justice. “We recognized him as an obstacle to Somalia’s objective of having cohesion and harmony, both within Somalia and with its neighbors.”
Who was Maalim Ayman?
Maalim Ayman was a top Al-Shabab commander. The US State Department Reward for Justice program had set a $10 million bounty for any information leading to his arrest or conviction. Ayman had led terrorist attacks in Kenya and Somalia.
Reports say he was responsible for the assault on January 2020 on a military base in Manda Bay, Kenya, that killed two US contractor pilots and a US soldier, six US aircraft were destroyed in the attack. This military base was used by the Kenyan Defense Forces and US armed forces for training and counterterrorism support to East African partners.
The US had designated Ayman as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order (E.O) 13224. He was the leader of Al-Shabab unit Jaysh Ayman.
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Al-Shabab Insurgent Group
This is an Islamist insurgent group based in Somalia. It emerged in the early 2000s and has been pushed back by the US and Regional forces. But it continues to spread terror. Experts say Al-Shabab is resilient and remains the principle security challenge in Somalia.
The group controls large parts of Somalia and launches lethal attacks against foreign and regional forces.
