MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s intelligence agency said it killed a former head of Al-Shabaab’s financial operations in a planned operation conducted with international partners in the country’s southern Lower Shabelle region.
The National Intelligence and Security Agency, known as NISA, identified the man as Faysal Yusuf Macallin Abdulle, also known as Abdikarim Horseed or Gaagaale. The agency said the operation took place on Oct. 23 in Kuunyo Barrow.
NISA said Abdulle oversaw the militant group’s finances from 2014 to 2024 and remained closely connected to its senior leadership.
According to the agency, Abdulle joined Al-Shabaab in 2007 while working at a shop in Mogadishu’s Bakara Market. NISA said the shop served as cover for his activities within the group.
He headed Al-Shabaab’s financial office in the Banaadir region from 2007 to 2011, managing money collected through extortion, the agency said. He then served as the group’s chief accountant from 2011 to 2014 before becoming its top financial official.
Abdulle was succeeded by Abdullahi Hassan Abdi Cosoble, known as Abdullahi Wadaad, who was killed in a separate operation on Jan. 23, 2026, in Kuunyo Barrow, NISA said.
The agency described the deaths of the two successive financial chiefs as a major setback for Al-Shabaab’s leadership and financial networks.
Al-Shabaab, which is affiliated with al-Qaida, has waged an insurgency against Somalia’s federal government for more than 15 years. The group has carried out bombings, assassinations and attacks on security forces, government officials and civilians.
The militants also rely on extortion and forced taxation of businesses and communities to finance their operations, including in areas where they maintain an influence.
NISA said it would continue targeting senior Al-Shabaab figures and disrupting networks involved in collecting money used to finance attacks against Somalis.
The agency did not provide further details about the operation, including the methods used or whether other people were killed.
The claims about Abdulle’s role in Al-Shabaab and the circumstances of his death could not be independently verified.
