US Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed a US strike killed Ali Muhammad Hussein, believed to be a high-level al Shabaab commander. No civilians were reported to have been killed or injured in the strike.
The strike took place in Tortoroow in southern Somalia at around 1500 local time on July 30th, reportedly killing Jabal alone.
Africom said Hussein, who was also known as Ali Jabal, was “responsible for leading al-Shabaab forces operating in the Mogadishu and Banadiir regions in planning and executing attacks against the capital of Mogadishu.”
“The US conducted this operation in coordination with its regional partners as a direct response to al Shabaab actions, including recent attacks on Somali forces,” AFRICOM said in a statement announcing the strike. “We continue to work in coordination with our Somali partners and allies to systematically dismantle al Shabaab, and help achieve stability and security throughout the region.”
“His removal disrupts al-Shabaab’s ability to plan and conduct attacks in Mogadishu and coordinate efforts between Al-Shabaab regional commanders,” read a separate Africom press release announcing Jabal’s death.
The Somali information ministry had announced Jabal’s death earlier, describing him as the shadow al Shabaab governor for Mogadishu. “This individual was part of an al-Shabab network responsible for planning and executing several bombings and assassinations that resulted in the deplorable death of numerous innocent civilians in Mogadishu,” a statement from the ministry reportedly said.
According to Stars and Stripes, Somalia’s information ministry said Jabal was killed in what was described as an operation coordinated with “international partners”. Reuters said the information ministry called it a “military raid” carried out with its military and allied foreign troops, although the nationality of the troops was not given. A Somali intelligence official told Stars and Stripes at least one missile struck a car Hussein was travelling in.
Al Qaeda confirmed Jabal’s death in an online statement on August 26. “The cowardly American enemy planes tried to strike him. The first missed him and the second hit, making him a martyr,” said the al Qaeda statement according to Reuters.
In a subsequent FOIA response obtained by journalist Joshua Eaton in May 2019, AFRICOM again confirmed it had struck what it says was an al Shabaab leader (“an al-shabaab named objective”), in the vicinity of Tortoroow on July 30th.
According to SITE via Voice of America, al Shabaab later issued a statement confirming the death of Ali Jabal.
The incident occured at 15:00:00 local time.