Thursday January 12, 2023
Jowhar (HOL) - Somalia's security forces, backed by local clan militia forces, intercepted two vehicles loaded with explosives after an anti-al Shabab operation in the Bal'ad district of the Middle Shabelle region on Thursday.
Military officials said al-Shabaab militants were planning to attack civilian areas in the Middle Shabelle region, but "We have destroyed the vehicles without causing any casualties."
According to officials, the operations to flush out the militants would continue in the region as part of the ongoing offensive in several parts of the country.
The group carried out two major attacks in Hirshabelle state in the last two weeks. The first was directed at a government army post in Hilowle Gaab village in the Middle Shabelle region, killing several government soldiers.
The second attack, which killed 15, occurred in the town of Mahas in the central Hiiraan region, about 300 kilometers north of Mogadishu.
Mumin Mohamed Halane, the town's mayor, said that the attacks consisted of two car bomb blasts targeting his house and the residence of a member of the federal parliament, Mahamed Abukar Jacfar.