Al-Shabaab kills Intelligence agents in Somalia’s capital

Al-Qaida linked group, the Al-Shabaab on Sunday killed two men believed to be agents of the National Intelligence Security Agency [NISA], in what is believed to be a revenge mission whose details remain discreet, in one of the latest onslaughts against the government.

For years, the Al-Shabaab has been targeted senior government officials, the security forces, and innocent civilians, but it’s the members of security who have borne the brunt of the group’s menace, which cuts across Somalia and beyond the borders.

Since 2007, the Al-Shabaab militants have been fighting to topple the fragile UN-backed Somalia administration which has struggled to stamp authority in the country, and whose tenure expired recently, leading to internal political wrangles.

Those killed by the group were identified as Ali Ahmed Hassan and Ismail Ahmed Siyad, and are believed to have been working with NISA at the time of their death. NISA, which is led by former Aljazeera journalist Fahad Yasin, has recruited hundreds of spies within Somalia.

Reports from security forces indicate that the two were killed at Mogadishu’s Bakara market Sunday. The Al-Shabaab militants confirmed that the slain youths were NISA plain clothed agents, but the reports could not be established independently by Garowe Online.

The government is yet to respond to queries on the attachment of the slain officers, but it’s not a secret that the Al-Shabaab militants have been targeting NISA agents, who are responsible for their trial and prosecution in most military courts cases.

Sometime back in 2020, a damning report from the Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] indicated that Al-Shabaab militants were closely working with NISA agents, a claim which was dismissed by the Federal Government of Somalia as “fake and concocted lies.”