MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – The leader of the Al-Qaeda-aligned militant group Al-Shabaab Abu Ubeida Ahmed Omar has recently appointed a new military commander, months after offensive by allied government troops and clan militias stalled in the central Somalia regions of Galmudug and Hirshabelle, officials said.
Somali National Security Advisor Hussein Moalim said last week the insurgents appointed a new commander for the Jabha, a name for the group’s army.
According to VOA Somali journalist Harun Maruf, security officials believe that Guled Ilkacase is now the chief of the group’s military replacing Yasir Jiis, who was designated by the US in 2022 as a “global terrorist.”
Little is known about the new Al-Shabaab military commander, though a defector from the group claimed that he had spent time with militants in Galgala, a mountainous stronghold for the group in the northeastern semi-autonomous region of Puntland.
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