MOGADISHU
Somali National Security Minister Khalif Ahmed Ereg warned Saturday of a possible wave of attacks by Al-Shabaab militant group in retaliation for the killing of its leader Ahmed Abdi Godane in a U.S. airstrike on Friday.
"Al-Shabaab would seek to carry out bombings and attacks against government offices and public facilities in retaliation for the killing of its leader and to convey a message that would raise the morale of its fighters and show that it is still united," Ereg told reporters.
Yet, he asserted that his country's security agencies are "ready to repel all terrorist attacks."
Al-Shabaab, he said, "are breathing their last" and might carry out indiscriminate attacks that would not differentiate between civilians and government officials.
The Somali-based militant group on Friday announced that Godane had died of wounds sustained in a U.S. drone strike on Monday in the country's Lower Shebelle region.
The Pentagon announced earlier that U.S. forces targeted a meeting of the group’s leaders in Lower Shebelle in Southern Somalia but at the time of the announcement, spokesman John Kirby could not confirm if Godane was killed in the operation.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, for his part, described Godane's death as a "good step" on the path to peace.
In recent years, Al-Shabaab has fought the Mogadishu government in several parts of the poverty-stricken country.
Established in 2004, Al-Shabaab has battled the government for control of territory throughout Somalia.
The Somali government and African troops have launched a massive military operation – codenamed "Operation Indian Ocean" – against Al-Shabaab.
The offensive has seen the militant group lose most of its strongholds, except for the port of Barawe.
The port is believed to be Al-Shabaab's main source of revenue, generating millions of dollars from the illegal sale of charcoal to the Middle East.
Somalia, a long-troubled country in the Horn of Africa, has remained in the grip of on-again, off-again violence since the outbreak of civil war in 1991.
By Nour Geidi
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
