43 Al-Shabaab Members Killed in Somalia

Somali forces patrol in Mogadishu. (AP)
Somali forces patrol in Mogadishu. (AP)
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43 Al-Shabaab Members Killed in Somalia

Somali forces patrol in Mogadishu. (AP)
Somali forces patrol in Mogadishu. (AP)

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called Monday on the Army to be prepared for the second phase of the offensive operation against terrorist militants remaining in the country.

Meanwhile the Somali News Agency, Sonna, quoted official sources as saying that more than 40 members of al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab militants were killed in battles in the northeast of Somalia.

The agency said 43 members of the Kharijite (the term the Somali government uses to refer to the Islamist group) were killed during bloody battles that took place last Monday among terrorist groups in the Golis Mountains, northeast Somalia.

The sources added that during the attack, three Al-Shabaab leaders were killed. “ISIS militias defeated the Khawarij and controlled the area where the two extremist groups were fighting,” the sources affirmed.

Meanwhile, the Military Court of Somalia’s Puntland State sentenced ten Al-Shabaab members to death by firing squad on Sunday for committing terrorist operations in several regions.

Two of the accused, Adde Abdullahi Mohamed Elmi and Abdiqani Suleyman Jama Saylor, were convicted of the murder of freelance radio journalist Jamal Farah Adan in Galkaayo. Both men received the death sentence after exhausting all appeal options.

Early this month, 13 people from al-Shabaab and ISIS were executed by firing squad in Somalia’s northeastern state of Puntland.

Separately, the Somali President praised on Sunday the Army for gaining success in the fight against Al-Shabaab militants and ordered them to be prepared for the second phase of the offensive operation against the terrorists who still remain in western parts of Middle Shabelle and Hiiraan region under Hirshabelle State in Somalia.

Mohamud, together with a Government delegation, and Hir-Shabelle State President, Ali Gudlawe Hussein visited the Aden Yabal district in the Middle Shabelle region where he met with community members and listened to a report on the living conditions.

Aden Yabal was Al-Shabaab’s major stronghold in the past 15 years.

“The withdrawal of Al-Shabaab movement from the strategic city of Aden Yibal means that it was militarily and economically defeated,” the President said, explaining that the region was the most important economic stronghold for the terrorist group.

“This is clear evidence of the inability of the Kharijites to militarily confront the national army,” he said, adding that the militants have failed to find a safe haven and that their ideology threats against the local population have ended.



Drone Attack Halts Oil Output at Sarsang Field in Iraqi Kurdistan

An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
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Drone Attack Halts Oil Output at Sarsang Field in Iraqi Kurdistan

An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)
An oil field in Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq (File Photo: Reuters)

A drone attack halted production at the Sarsang oilfield in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Tuesday only hours before its US operator signed a deal to develop another field.

The Sarsang field is operated by HKN Energy, a privately held US oil and gas company active in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and owned by Hillwood Energy, part of the Hillwood group founded by Ross Perot Jr.

Two hours after the morning attack, HKN Vice President Matthew Zais was in Baghdad with Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani to sign a preliminary agreement to develop the Himreen oilfield in northern Iraq, the oil ministry said, Reuters reported.

The signing ceremony was also attended by US Ambassador Steven Fagin, whose embassy condemned the drone attacks on oil infrastructure in the Kurdistan region and urged the Iraqi government to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.

Washington said such attacks undermine Iraq’s sovereignty and efforts to attract foreign investment.

Production at the Sarsang field was halted as a precautionary measure after an explosion, two engineers told Reuters.

Kurdistan regional authorities confirmed that the blast was from a drone attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Iraqi Kurdistan security sources said that initial investigations suggested that the drone came from areas under the control of Iran-backed militias.

Heavy plumes of smoke were seen rising from the Sarsang field in the Dohuk region of northern Iraq, said one oil engineer at the field.

Field operator HKN said that the halt to production was to allow firefighters to extinguish the fire, later adding that emergency response teams contained the damage.

There were no casualties, Iraqi Kurdistan's ministry of natural resources and HKN said.

The incident is under investigation and a full assessment of the damage has been initiated, the company said without providing further detail on the cause of the explosion.

On Monday two drones fell on the Khurmala oilfield near Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, damaging the water pipes at the field.