Hiiraan Online
Monday September 30, 2019
MOGADISHU (HOL) - Abdiwaahid Khalif Abdi aka Tarabuun whose arrest in 2017 was declared a major victory in the war against terror by Security Minister Abukar Islow served only two years behind bar and is now a free man, Somali government said Sunday amid a red alert in Kenya.
Kenya sent a red alert Saturday noting Tarabuun had entered the country and ordered him to report to any police station immediately. But the Somali government has said the former head of Al-Shabaab military and intelligence in Banaadir region was now a ‘free man’.
"Having completed a two year jail term, which was handed by the military court, Abdiwahid (Tarabun) was released in accordance with the Constitution. After his release, his movement and situation have been under radar," deputy information minister Adan Isack Ali.
Report of Tarabun’s release generated debate online with many wondering how a senior Al-Shabaab member had found way out of custody. This came after police in Kenya said Tarabun had entered the country last week.“The National Police Service wishes to inform Mr. Abdiwaahid Khalif Abdi alias Ise Tarabuun whose photograph appears below, a Somali national believed to have arrived in Kenya on September 24th 2019 to report to the nearest police station with immediate effect,” the National Police Service said in a tweet.
Security Minister Abukar Islow announced in June 2017 that Tarabun had been arrested and that he was in charge of Al-Shabaab’s intelligence and military wing (Amniyat) in Banaadir region.