Is Al Shabaab killing each other?

[XuseenS]

Jilib drone strike targets Al-Shabaab amidst leadership feud

Mogadishu (HOL) - A suspected U.S. drone strike on Sunday evening targeted a residential area in Jilib, Middle Jubba, amid escalating tensions within Al-Shabaab's ranks. Sources reported hearing two major explosions in an area which serves as a hub for Al-Shabaab leaders.

www.hiiraan.com

Mogadishu (HOL) - A suspected U.S. drone strike on Sunday evening targeted a residential area in Jilib, Middle Jubba, amid escalating tensions within Al-Shabaab's ranks. Sources reported hearing two major explosions in an area which serves as a hub for Al-Shabaab leaders.'


The casualties from this strike remain undisclosed, though reports point to losses within Al-Shabaab.

Neither the Somali government nor the United States have issued statements. However, Al-Shabaab alleges a U.S. drone hit a civilian home, injuring two individuals, including an 11-year-old girl.


Under the leadership of Ahmed Diriye, Ahmed Umar Abu Ubaidah, Al-Shabaab has controlled territories, levied taxes, and operated from Jilib as their command center for the past decade. Diriye took over after the death of his predecessor, Godane, in a U.S. airstrike. His tenure has seen significant challenges, notably from Mahad Warsame (Karate), leading to violent confrontations within the group.

The internal strife within Al-Shabaab has been intensifying, particularly since the onset of the Somali government's counter-insurgency campaign in late August 2022. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) recorded 13 internal clashes within Al-Shabaab since late December 2022, resulting in at least 80 fatalities by November 2023. These clashes, mainly in traditional strongholds like Jilib, indicate a growing discord over the group's response strategies to government operations.

More recently, there was a surge in inter-Shabaab conflicts in October 2023 in Jilib, during which ACLED records three armed clashes.

 

[Celery]

It was a US drone strike. No statements because they feared there were civilian casualties. You do know that there’s no law which requires them to disclose everything

 

[XuseenS]

It was a US drone strike. No statements because they feared there were civilian casualties. You do know that there’s no law which requires them to disclose everything

No I meant killing each other*

 

[lahaine]

They have a leadership crisis and are chimping out it's good that they are killing each other we should enjoy it

 

[Celery]

They have a leadership crisis and are chimping out it's good that they are killing each other we should enjoy it
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It’s actually dangerous. They are fighting about how to fight the government. Some want to take a softer approach, blend in with the population and engage in propaganda wars. People in Somalia are susceptible to propaganda as long as it starts with “diinta islaamka”

 

[lahaine]

People in Somalia are susceptible to propaganda as long as it starts with “diinta islaamka”

This is so real especially when I see ICU defenders as if they were not qabilist hiding behind an Islamic name

 

[Aiman12]

It’s actually dangerous. They are fighting about how to fight the government. Some want to take a softer approach, blend in with the population and engage in propaganda wars. People in Somalia are susceptible to propaganda as long as it starts with “diinta islaamka”

doesnt matter what they are fighting about, the fact they are fighting at all is a good thing. Though i hope it escalates into a full civil war between the factions of al shabab

 

[Celery]

doesnt matter what they are fighting about, the fact they are fighting at all is a good thing. Though i hope it escalates into a full civil war between the factions of al shabab

For us it’s better for them to scoot and shoot their AK47s at our troops. That way we can put them to sleep and it’s game over with 30mm cannons.

 

[XuseenS]

FGS should try to instigate and escalate the infighting occurring between them. A divided AS is easier to defeat

 

[Bazed]

AS has always functioned like the mafia. Heads of the organization sit fat at the top but from time to time someone will get sick and start trouble. I remember reading they killed a commander who planned on surrendering along with his whole squad. If the house of cards begins to sway it will fall and AS has been having internal issues for a while.

 

[Internet Nomad]

If two alshabab are fighting each other and they both blow themselves up at the same time did they both achieve their goals of killing the other person?

 

[mohamedismail]

This is great news. Hopefully they infight and xasuuq each other so the SNA doesn't have to lose that much men fighting them.

 

[Bazed]

If two alshabab are fighting each other and they both blow themselves up at the same time did they both achieve their goals of killing the other person?

This is the Somali equivalent of:

"If a tree falls in the woods but no one is there to hear it, did it make noise?"