Al-Shabab, an Al Qaida-affiliated group, revealed the identity of the suicide bomber behind the March 7 attack in the Janay Abdalla area of the Lower Jubba region on Sunday.
The Somalia National Army and forces from the Jubbaland Administration, one of Somalia’s five federal member states, were housed in the targeted camp.
The news comes as Somali forces continue to fight militants who have waged a brutal insurgency for the past 15 years.
The suicide bomber was identified as Dnayizeye Isack Khalid, also known as Showkani, by the group.Al-Shabab released a video of Khalid before the attack, showing him driving a truck loaded with explosivesHe claimed to be a Burundian national and a member of the Hutu tribe in the recording.Khalid, who was born in 1992, allegedly spent seven years in Somalia before carrying out the attack.
In their propaganda, Al-Shabab frequently emphasises the involvement of foreign fighters, claiming that they fight to liberate the Somali people from foreign military intervention.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the base attack, claiming the deaths of 89 soldiers, a figure that has yet to be independently verified.
The Somali army and local militias known as “Macawisley” have recently reclaimed vast territories in the central Galmudug and Hiran
This operation was aided by US airstrikes. The government’s national security adviser, Hussein Sheikh-Ali, revealed plans for a second phase of military operations involving additional troops from the three countries bordering Somalia: Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
Despite being driven out of Mogadishu and other major urban centers over a decade ago, Al-Shabab maintains a stronghold in rural central and southern Somalia.
Al-Shabab carried out its deadliest attack last year, killing 121 people when two car bombs exploded at the education ministry in Mogadishu in October.The incident served as a stark reminder of the group’s tenacity and ability to carry out high-casualty attacks despite losing ground to pro-government forces.
