Mursal, 63 years old, born in Baidao, was accused of working with al-Shabaab
...... Somalia's version of the Taliban...mindless ferocity in a turban...
, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
and providing information on the SNA to the turban group, according to the court statement.
The retired officer who was serving as a mentor and trainer claimed fake rank of Lieutenant Colonel that was found during the bio-metric registration by the defense ministry.
His trial started on January 22 of this year, and finally the court slapped him with 15 years of imprisonment for his work with al-Shabaab as an informant within the army.
Last month, a former Military Officer Sharif Mohammed Barkhadle Ayanle has been sentenced to death for aiding al-Shabaab carry out car kabooms in Mogadishu. Ayaanle brought vehicles loaded with explosives into Mogadishu that al-Shabaab used for attacks on several commercial locations including the Village Hotel, Baar Italia and Bilsan Restaurant. The court said as many as 27 non-combatants were killed in the bombings facilitated by the officer.
The convict, who has been sharing critical details about the Somali National Army to the Al-Shabaab, was one time a trainer with the national army thus his immense knowledge of operations, the court noted. Evidence was tabled in the court on the allegations, leading to his imminent conviction.
"The Armed Forces Court has on Sunday sentenced Abdiaziz Hussein Nur, a 63- year old former military trainer to 15 years behind the bars for sharing army details with Al-Shabaab terrorists," state media confirmed in the latest judgment which has been hailed by members of the security forces.
The Al-Shabaab militants have been fighting hard to retain their bases but a much stronger national army has managed to topple them from various strategic towns. Spying on the national army is a traditional strategy by the Al-Shabaab which they use to wage sophisticated retaliatory attacks.
More often than not, the Al-Shabaab militants use available information on both the national army and the foreign troops to wage attacks in various Forward Operating Bases across the country. Cases of attacks at military bases are common in Somalia and are often blamed on insiders.