Somalia kills mastermind of attack on president’s convoy

[Deeq A.]

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somalia’s intelligence agency announced Tuesday that a senior Al-Shabaab commander who masterminded a deadly attack on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s convoy in March has been killed in a targeted airstrike.

The strike, carried out on September 9 in southern Somalia, marks a significant victory in the government’s intensifying campaign against the al-Qaeda-linked militant group.

In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) confirmed that Mohamed Abdi Dhiblawe Afrah was killed in a joint operation with “international partners” in the Lower Shabelle region.

“A planned operation killed the ringleader, Mohamed Abdi Dhiblawe Afrah,” NISA said. “He was the mastermind behind the March 18, 2025, bombing that targeted the President’s convoy.”

Afrah was traveling in a vehicle in the Ugunji area, near Qoryooley, when the strike hit. He had been on the run since March, when a car bomb detonated near the presidential motorcade at Ceel-gaab junction in Mogadishu. President Mohamud escaped that attack unharmed.

According to NISA, Afrah—also known by the alias Khaalid Dheere (“Khalid the Tall”)—had been under constant surveillance.

“This ringleader was also behind other bombings and violent acts that harmed civilians and had been actively tracked since the Ceel-gaab attack,” the statement added.

The killing of a key operational planner delivers a heavy blow to Al-Shabaab’s network in Lower Shabelle, a fertile agricultural hub that has long been central to the conflict.

‘All-out war’ continues

The strike comes as part of a wider offensive launched by President Mohamud after returning to power in May 2022, when he declared an “all-out war” on Al-Shabaab.

The campaign has paired military operations with efforts to cut off the group’s finances and weaken its ideology. Backed by clan militias, Somali forces have reclaimed swathes of territory in central regions such as Galmudug and Hirshabelle.

Yet Al-Shabaab remains entrenched. For more than 15 years, the group has maintained control of large rural areas in southern and central Somalia, launching regular and deadly attacks on government, military, and civilian targets.

Lower Shabelle, situated just south of the capital, has been strategically important as it controls key access routes into Mogadishu.

U.S. military role

Although NISA referred only to “international partners,” the phrase is widely understood to point to the United States military, which plays a central role in supporting Somali operations.

The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) regularly conducts drone strikes, aerial surveillance, and intelligence-sharing to support Somali-led ground offensives.

These so-called “collective self-defense” strikes are carried out at the request of the Somali government to neutralize militants actively attacking Somali forces.

Washington has designated Al-Shabaab as a terrorist group and views it as one of the most dangerous affiliates of al-Qaeda. The group’s core mission is to topple Somalia’s internationally backed government and impose its hardline version of Islamic law.

The successful elimination of Afrah highlights the growing effectiveness of Somalia’s intelligence-led strategy to disrupt Al-Shabaab’s leadership and dismantle its operational capacity.