...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...murderous Moslems, in what has significantly changed the dynamics and probably resuscitated the fight against the group.
Witnesses said at least 45 al-Shabaab gunnies were killed by government-allied militia and some were subsequently beheaded as citizens waged retaliatory attacks against the group which has been controlling Central and Southern Somalia.
For a month, the government in partnership with local militia has heightened operations against al-Shabaab in the Hiiraan, Galgaduud, and Bay regions of Somalia, killing dozens of the gunnies in the process.
The al-Qaeda-linked group has been destroying wells, and houses and even beheading innocent civilians, a move which triggered revolt from members of the public who have been immensely affected. The Somali National Army has also been claiming credit for the deaths.
"Al-Shabaab is not strong, it just burns people, beheads people, and puts their heads in the streets just to terrorize," said Ahmed Abdulle, a Hiran elder, in an interview with Rooters.
"Now, we are doing the same: we have ordered the beheading of al-Shabaab fighters," he told Rooters.
Although the latest retaliatory attacks could not be independently verified, videos making rounds on social media showed heads of the gunnies scattered everywhere in various villages. The gunnies were in their usual black headgear and military fatigue.
"Al-Shabaab put us in hell...So our people decided to liberate themselves... My daughter is also fighting in the frontline, she has an AK-47 on her shoulder," resident Halima Ismail said.
Somali Interior Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An al-Shabaab front man was not immediately available for comment.
"I can say no more!"
"This week, we have recaptured nine villages," said Ahmed Shire, the Galmudug
...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth...
information minister. "It is a big revolution by Galmudug state."
In a statement, state media reported that in collaboration with the Somali National Army and local residents killed more than 45 Death Eaters of al-Shabaab in the Yasooman area under the Bula-Burde district. The operation still continues.
On the other hand, the National Armed Forces rubbed out nine gunnies of al-Shabaab after an operation in the Warmahan area of ​​the Lower Shabelle region where they were trying to organize them secretly, the state-owned media added.
The gunnies had killed over 22 people who were traveling in trucks carrying food within Hiiraan, necessitating the revolt from locals, who believe al-Shabaab gunnies are weak and can be exterminated with serious operations within the country.