By Asma Abdullahi - Reporter
Somalia, July 20 2026– Somalia on Monday confirmed the death of senior Al-Shabaab leader Mo’allin Jinaw Ibrahim in an airstrike carried out earlier this month, calling him a long time member of the group's leadership council.
Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi told a press conference that the strike took place on July 5 after Somali military intelligence tracked Ibrahim for 14 days in an operation conducted with international partners.
According to Fiqi, Ibrahim was killed in Sabiyo village, between the districts of Afgoye and Basra in the Lower Shabelle region, where he was meeting with several Al-Shabaab members at a rural hideout.
The minister said Ibrahim had been a member of Al-Shabaab since its formation and served on the group's Shura Council, which oversees the organisation's strategic decisions. He also described him as a senior adviser to the group's leader, Ahmed Diriye, known as Abu Ubaidah, and said he played a key role in directing military operations, collecting illicit taxes and coordinating recruitment.
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Fiqi accused Ibrahim of orchestrating attacks and other activities in the Bay, Bakool, Galgaduud and Hiiraan regions, and said local community leaders in Bay and Bakool had repeatedly called for action against him because of his alleged role in violence and forced recruitment.
The minister said Somali authorities delayed announcing the operation until they had verified Ibrahim's death.
Somalia has intensified military operations against Al-Shabaab in recent years with support from international partners, combining ground offensives with intelligence-led airstrikes targeting the group's leadership and infrastructure.