Aadan-Yabaal, Somalia – Somali government forces, in coordination with international partners, carried out an airstrike in the central district of Aadan-Yabaal in Middle Shabelle, destroying vehicles loaded with explosives and a weapons cache belonging to the militant group Al-Shabaab, officials said Sunday.
Government security officials confirmed that the strike targeted a site where Al-Shabaab fighters were preparing vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) for potential attacks against civilian and military targets.
“The precision airstrike successfully destroyed several explosive-laden vehicles and a key weapons depot used by the terrorists,” a senior government security officer told Radio Shabelle on condition of anonymity.
The official added that the operation was part of a wider military campaign aimed at weakening Al-Shabaab’s operational capacity in central and southern Somalia.
While casualty figures from the militant group remain unverified, officials stated the strike was conducted with “careful planning” to avoid civilian harm.
Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda-linked group, has been waging an insurgency in Somalia for more than a decade and frequently uses suicide car bombs in its operations.
Military offensives against the group have intensified in recent months as Somali authorities, backed by regional and international allies, seek to reclaim territory and restore stability.
