The militant group Al-Shabaab had previously held two towns in the central Galmudug State, according to a report from the Somali administration on Monday.
Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur told newsmen Somali that after the militants departed without a struggle, government soldiers and local fighters took control of Harardhere and Galcad.
A significant seaside community and former pirate hub is Harardhere. The largest and most important town in Galmudug was remained under al-Shabaab control as of Monday.
“Today, it’s a big day for the Somali people, it’s a victory for the Somalis,” Nur said. “We have succeeded in taking control of Galcad and Harardhere districts.”
He claimed that regional and local fighters were supporting the operation to take both towns, which was being led by Somali government forces.
Nur claimed that the town of Harardhere is mainly deserted and charged al-Shabab with “displacing” the residents before to the arrival of government troops. He said that businesses were shut down.
He promised that the administration would endeavor to get the locals back in the community. The government-led effort against al-Shabaab in central Somalia is making headway, as evidenced by the conquest of Galcad, which is located some 375 kilometres north of Mogadishu, and Harardhere.
Since the start of the military operations in August, the government has said that it has killed hundreds of militants and taken control of dozens of towns and cities in the neighboring Hirshabelle state.
In an effort to stop the al-Shabaab from raising money, the government has also reportedly closed hundreds of bank and mobile money accounts that were purportedly related to the organisation.
Al-Shabab has responded with suicide bombs and reprisal strikes because it is notorious for implementing a strict, punitive interpretation of Islam in the regions it governs. In Halgan village, Hiran region, a structure housing a security officer was damaged by an explosion caused by a suicide car bomb on Monday. An officer of the police told newsmen.
Captain Jamal Ahmed Jama of the local security forces was killed in the blast, according to Colonel Hassan Kaafi Mohamed Ibrahim, a deputy police commander in the Hiran district.
According to sources, Jama was a government official who also took part in the organisation of the neighborhood forces to combat al-Shabab.
The suicide car attack in Halgan, 260 kilometres north of Mogadishu, was claimed by Al-Shabaab. The organisation also claimed responsibility for other recent suicide bombs that resulted in “serious losses.”
According to local authorities, three explosions that occurred on Saturday in the towns of Bulobarde and Jalalaqsi in the Hiran region were caused by Al-Shabab and resulted in 13 fatalities and more than 50 injuries.
On January 4, two explosions from vehicle-borne explosive devices in Mahaas town, in the eastern portion of the Hiran region, resulted in the deaths of more than 20 individuals, the bulk of whom were civilians.