MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – Russian jihadist fighting for Al-Shabaab has been killed in gun battle with Somali military in Lower Shabelle region, a military official confirmed.
Reports say Sheikh Abdinasir Azerbaijan crossed into Somalia from Yemen where he fought alongside Houthi rebels before joining Al-Shabaab in Somalia three years ago.
Omar Dhere, the commander of 12th April Battalion of Somali military who spoke to media said Azerbaijan and key al Shabaab commanders and fighters were among those killed in an operation conducted in Marka town.
The military commander did not specify the date killed the foreigner.
Last week Somali army dislodged Al-Shabaab fighters from parts of Marka town following covert operations secure the town which is the provincial of Lower Shabelle region.
The forces killed several Al-Shabaab fighters in the attack, according to the commanders who led operation.
The villages the troops recapture were Lusiya, Obasibo, and El-Haji which are part of Marka town.
In 2016, Al-Shabaab fighters seized the town, which is situated 100 kilometers (60 miles)southwest of Mogadishu after troops from the Ugandan contingent of the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) left.
Since then the group was controlling parts of the town which is one of the strategic ports in Southern Somalia
Marka is Somalia’s third-largest port after Mogadishu, 90km to the north, and Kismayo, which is more than 300km to the south.
In between Marka and Kismayo lies Barawe, the last major port which al Shabaab controlled before they were dislodged in October 2014.
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