Al Shabab Terrorist Group Captures U.N. Helicopter in Somalia

A United Nations helicopter carrying 9 passengers was captured in Somalia on Wednesday by the terrorist group Al Shabab after making an emergency touchdown in an space managed by the group, two Somali officers stated.

Six of the passengers had been captured, whereas two escaped and one was killed, in accordance with the 2 officers, who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate delicate issues. There have been foreigners among the many passengers, one of many officers stated, although their nationalities weren’t identified.

The helicopter, which was hooked up to the United Nations Help Workplace in Somalia, landed within the Galgaduud area in central Somalia on Wednesday. It was not instantly clear why the helicopter needed to land. The fates of the 2 passengers who fled had been nonetheless unknown, one of many officers stated.

The U.N. Help Workplace in Somalia didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark. The workplace gives logistical assist to the over 19,000-member peacekeeping forces with the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia. That assist consists of ferrying meals and gas, offering land and air transportation in addition to casualty evacuations.

Al Shabab, which implies “The Youth” in Arabic, has wreaked havoc throughout Somalia for nearly a decade and half, promising to topple the U.N.-backed federal authorities and to ascertain an Islamic state. The group instructions between 7,000 and 12,000 fighters and makes about $120 million yearly via extortion and taxation, in accordance with U.S. and Somali officers.

Since coming to energy in 2022, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has vowed to get rid of the group each militarily and financially. He poured troops into areas that embody south-central Somalia, the place the helicopter landed, and with the assistance of American drones in the air and native clan militias on the bottom, liberated dozens of small cities and villages, in accordance with Somali officers and safety officers.

However the Shabab have remained belligerent in the face of this offensive, finishing up multiple attacks in opposition to security forces and civilians throughout the nation.