What You Need to Know
A prominent leader of Al-Shabaab, Ismail the Engineer, was killed in a joint airstrike in Somalia on December 10. The operation, conducted with U.S. support, targeted the Jilib area and resulted in the death of another key figure, Abdullah Osman Mohamed Abukar, who was linked to numerous attacks, including an assassination attempt on the Somali president.
Africa. A prominent leader of Al-Shabaab in Somalia, Ismail the Engineer, who had a $5 million bounty on his head, was killed in an airstrike in the Jilib area on December 10.
Somalia announced the death of a key Al-Shabaab leader during a joint operation with the United States in December. He was described as responsible for numerous attacks, including an assassination attempt on the Somali president.
Somali Defense Minister Ahmed Maalim Fiqi stated in a press release that Abdullah Osman Mohamed Abukar, known as Ismail the Engineer, was killed on December 10 in an airstrike in the Lower Juba region.
Abukar, 43, was an explosives expert and a close advisor to Al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Diriye. The United States designated him a terrorist and offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Mr. Fiqi stated, “On December 10, 2025, the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency, in collaboration with its international partners, including our American friends, conducted a precise airstrike.”
He added that another prominent Al-Shabaab leader, Abdulkareem Mohamed Hersi Qarlix, was also killed during the operation. The Somali Defense Minister confirmed that Abukar was responsible for several attacks, including one targeting President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s convoy in March 2025 and another that targeted the Geliko prison complex in Mogadishu in October.
Al-Shabaab, an extremist group based in Somalia, has been responsible for numerous attacks in the region, aiming to establish an Islamic state. The group emerged in the mid-2000s and has since been involved in violent confrontations with the Somali government and international forces. The U.S. has conducted several operations against Al-Shabaab leaders to weaken their influence and reduce terrorist activities in the region.
