Addis Ababa, 31 March 2015 (WIC) - Amidst bitter dissension and severe setbacks on the frontline, another senior Al Shabaab official gave himself up in Bakool region of southern Somalia on Sunday afternoon, Garowe Online reports.
Somali National Army (SNA) commander, Abdirahman Mohamed Osman (Tima Adde) said in an interview with a Mogadishu-based station on Monday that Al Shabaab intelligence official and terror attack mastermind Mohamed Ali Hassan surrendered to army units in Bakool.
“Al Shabaab emir and Aminiyat member who had since been operating in Lower Shabelle region has surrendered to the government forces,” said Tima Adde, adding that the Al-Shabaab official initially contacted government soldiers for discussions on his surrender.
Hassan is believed to have coordinated suicide bombings and ambushes along the Mogadishu-Afgoye road.
The man conceded launching an attack on Lower Shabelle Governor Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur Siidi near Ambarreso village.
In December 2014, top Al Shabaab official Zakariye Ismael Hirsi handed himself in on the border of Gedo region.
In early March, the US delisted Hirsi, prompting a welcoming statement from the Somali Federal Government. Al Shabaab lost a string of strategic towns in central and southern Somalia to allied forces over the last two years.