Somali government says it killed Al Shabaab co-founder

The Somali government said late Sunday (October 2) that it had killed Abdullahi Nadir, one of the co-founders of the Islamist militant group al Shabaab, in an operation with international partners.

The country’s information ministry said the operation that killed Nadir took place on Saturday, October 1.

He said he was al-Shabab’s chief prosecutor and was in line to replace the group’s leader, Ahmed Diriye, who is ill.

“His death is a thorn removed from the Somali nation,” the statement said. “The government is grateful to the Somali people and international friends whose cooperation facilitated the killing of this leader who was an enemy of the Somali nation.”

Over the past few weeks, Somali security forces have touted gains made against the al-Qaeda-linked group while fighting alongside local vigilante groups.

But al-Shabab continued to carry out deadly raids, including two last Friday that killed at least 16 people.