Somali forces have killed Abdullahi Abukar Ali, a senior operative of al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked group, accused of overseeing forced child soldier recruitment, the Defense Ministry said Sunday.
According to the ministry, Abukar was killed in a pre-dawn raid in Warta Eey Duure, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Hudur in Bakool.
The Somali National Army (SNA) conducted the operation with support from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
Officials described Abukar as one of Somalia’s most wanted militants, accused of managing funds extorted from civilians to finance attacks and overseeing the forced recruitment of child soldiers.
According to Human Rights Watch, al-Shabab has recruited boys as young as 10 to serve as front-line fighters, human shields, and suicide bombers.
The group seizes children from homes, schools, and communities under its control, often targeting families unable to pay its “taxes.” The abducted children are sent to training camps, where they are indoctrinated with radical ideology and readied for combat.
According to the statement, the operation also dismantled a network of al-Shabaab operatives active in the region.
The raid came after a week-long offensive in Lower Shabelle, during which SNA and ATMIS forces retook Bariire, 73 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu, killing more than 100 militants and seizing a large cache of weapons.
