MOGADISHU: Two joint Somali-US airstrikes killed 12 Al-Shabab militants in central Somalia and destroyed a ship carrying weapons for the Al-Qaeda-linked group, the Somali government said on Thursday, following recent advances by the Islamists.
The airstrikes came hours after the Islamists attacked the strategic town of Adan Yabal, which lies about 245 km (150 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu, and has been used as an operating base for raids on Al-Shabab.
Al Shabab has been waging an insurgency since 2007, seeking to seize power and rule based on its own strict interpretation of Islamic law, and it has been gaining ground since last month.
Several senior Al-Shabab fighters were among those killed in an airstrike carried out by Somali forces and the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) in the Adan Yabal district late on Wednesday, Somalia’s government said.
“The targeted strike hit a site used by the militants as a gathering and hideout,” the Ministry of Information said in a statement on the social media platform X, adding that no civilians had been killed in the strike.
A further airstrike was conducted by the government and AFRICOM on an unidentified and unflagged ship and smaller support vessels that were transporting weapons for Al-Shabab within Somali waters, the ministry said.
The vessels were destroyed their occupants were killed, it added.
In a separate incident on Thursday near the southwestern city of Baidoa, the national army killed at least 35 Al-Shabab fighters as they tried to attack a military base there, the ministry said.
Al Shabab briefly captured villages within 50 km (30 miles) of Mogadishu last month, raising fears among residents of the capital that the city could be targeted.
Somali forces have recaptured the villages briefly seized last month, but Al-Shabab has continued to advance in the countryside, leading the government to deploy police and prison guards to support the military, soldiers have told Reuters.
The outcome of the heavy fighting that broke out on Wednesday in Adan Yabal was not immediately clear, with government forces and Al-Shabab giving conflicting accounts of who was in control of the town.
Al Shabab said its forces had overrun 10 military installations during the fighting.
US-Somali airstrikes kill Al-Shabab militants, hit weapons ship, government says
https://arab.news/yn5vf
US-Somali airstrikes kill Al-Shabab militants, hit weapons ship, government says
- Somali government, US Africa Command carry out airstrikes
- Somali troops kill Al-Shabab fighters attempting to attack base
UK court jails Christian camp leader for drugging, sexually abusing boys
- Ruben admitted offenses relating to ill-treatment of children and sexual abuse — as well as to drugging his wife, who was volunteering at the camp, in order to avoid detection
LONDON: A court in England on Friday jailed a man for more than 31 years for drugging and sexually abusing young boys at a Christian summer camp he led last summer.
Police say they are now talking to other groups he worked with in the past as part of an ongoing investigation.
Former vet Jon Ruben, 76, was leading the camp last July, said a statement from prosecutors released after Friday’s judgment.
He laced sweets with sedatives and tricked children at the camp into eating them by encouraging them to take part in a game.
“Later on, while the boys were heavily asleep, he went into their dormitory and chose individual boys to sexually abuse them,” said prosecutors.
Volunteers at the camp in Leicestershire, central England, raised the alarm after finding the children still nauseous, drowsy and disoriented the next day.
Eight boys aged between eight and 11 were taken to hospital and Ruben was arrested.
Investigators found syringes and sedatives at the camp location.
On his devices they found indecent images of children as well as evidence he had procured tranquilizer drugs and tried to join an online paedophile network.
Ruben admitted offenses relating to ill-treatment of children and sexual abuse — as well as to drugging his wife, who was volunteering at the camp, in order to avoid detection.
A court in Leicester sentenced him on Friday to a total of 31 years and 10 months behind bars under special provisions for defendants designated by prosecutors as particularly dangerous.
Leicestershire police said the investigation into Ruben was still “very much ongoing.”
Officers are contacting schools and youth organizations in central England with whom Ruben was involved with over the past two decades.
