Hiiraan Online
Sunday, October 11, 2015
MOGADISHU (HOL) ---Somali troops in a central Somali town have captured several ‘wanted’ militants in a security operation against Al-Shabab hideouts in a major breakthrough that officials say could weaken the group’s insurgency.
Ahmed Hassan, a Somali military commander in Elbur town, Galgadud region told reporters that his troops acted on a security tip from local residents which prompted the raid on the town’s outskirts.
Mr. Hassan has noted that the unidentified Al-Shabab commanders arrested in the town would be tried by a local court.
There was no independent confirmation of the claims by the commander. Al-Shabab hasn’t so far commented on the development.
Elbur, an arid town in Galgadud region has once served as AL-Shabab’s largest base before allied forces ousted their fighters in a multi-pronged offensive last year.
Al-Shabab has since launched almost daily attacks on the town which is under the control of the African Union and Somali forces. The group has also laid blockade on the town, denying it of commercial or aid movements.
Al-Shabab often uses such tactics to draw support from local residents who despite having faced harassments under the group’s authority may yearn for life without economic blockades, a one provided by the group’s strongholds.
The latest security operation by Somali troops is parts of new efforts aimed at lifting the blockade from the town which on a major highway that links central and southern Somali towns.
Security experts say that despite losing most its key strongholds, Al-Shabab’s guerrilla warfare shift shows the continuity not only between al-Shabab’s military operations in the field, which have shifted back to the movement’s underground guerrilla roots, but also in its media operations.
“they have a keen interest in maintaining the ability to project the image of a movement that is both well-rooted in local social structures and capable of launching regular, successful attacks against its enemies—both domestic and foreign.” said a recent report by the US-based Combating Terrorism Institute (CTC).