Somalia NISA: Al-Shabab Amniyat Chief Killed in Operation

Mogadishu — Somalia's intelligence agency said a former head of al-Shabab's Amniyat security wing was killed in a planned operation carried out with international partners in the southern town of Jilib. The National Intelligence and Security Agency, or NISA, identified the man as Bashir Ahmed Haji Nunow and said he was killed during the operation on Oct. 1, 2026. NISA said Nunow led the militant group's Amniyat unit between 2016 and 2024. The agency said he operated under several aliases, including Geescadde, Fanax, Gardhuub and Ali Dheere. Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines The agency accused Nunow of playing a senior role in planning and carrying out attacks against Somali civilians. It specifically linked him to several major attacks in Mogadishu, including the Oct. 14, 2017, bombing at the Soobe intersection. NISA also attributed the Ex-Control Afgooye attack and the attack known as Soobe 2 to Nunow, along with assaults targeting hotels and other locations around Mogadishu's Lido Beach. The agency said the operation formed part of a wider campaign to pursue senior al-Shabab figures accused of directing attacks and maintaining the networks used to organise militant operations. NISA said the killing could disrupt al-Shabab's leadership and the networks responsible for planning and executing attacks. It did not provide details on how Nunow was killed or whether other people were killed or wounded in the operation. Al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked militant group, has waged an insurgency in Somalia for more than a decade and continues to carry out attacks despite military operations by Somali forces and their international partners. The Somali government has increasingly focused on targeting the group's senior leadership and disrupting its command, intelligence and financial networks as part of efforts to weaken the insurgency. Read the original article on Shabelle . AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals , representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica . To address comments or complaints, please Contact us . AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 90 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC. Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy . We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.