Somalia welcomes killing of senior Islamic State official by US special forces
Somalia’s government welcomed the killing of Bilal al-Sudani, a senior Islamic State official and the group’s important financial facilitator, by the US special operations forces in a remote part of northern Somalia on Wednesday, January 25, night.
During the special operation in a mountainous cave complex in Somalia’s Puntland state, the US forces also killed 10 other terrorist operatives, the Biden administration announced Thursday. United States’ officials said the US forces had intended to capture al-Sudani and other associates, but that attempt failed. Hussein Sheikh Ali, national security adviser for the Somali president, welcomed the move as very positive. While on a visit in Washington, Ali said that Islamic State is not the major threat to Somalia, as is al-Shabab, but its leader, al-Sudani, was a “dangerous terrorist” who posed a potential threat to Somalia and East Africa. “The message is, that the leaders of all terror groups in Somalia are not safe,” and there is no safe haven for them “in the entire Somalia Peninsula,” Hussein Sheikh Ali added.
“This action leaves the United States and its partners safer and more secure, and it reflects our steadfast commitment to protecting Americans from the threat of terrorism at home and abroad,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.
Al-Sudani has been on the radar for US intelligence officials for years. Austin said al-Sudani played a key role in helping fund IS operations in Africa as well as the ISIS-K affiliate operating in Afghanistan. The US Treasury Department had originally designated al-Sudani in 2012, for his role with al-Shabaab group in Somalia. President Joe Biden was briefed last week about the proposed mission, which came together after months of planning. Security experts believe the death of the IS leader in Somalia is a major setback to IS and other terrorist groups operating in Somalia who are facing an extensive offensive by Somalian forces.
