Reports indicate that Al-Shabaab carried out a heavy attack on the area, where government forces and allied militias had been stationed in recent days. This led to a direct confrontation between the two sides.

Local sources told the media that the bombings and subsequent clashes caused casualties, including deaths and injuries, though the full extent of the losses has not yet been confirmed.

Fighting between the attackers and government forces is still ongoing in the area, spreading to other parts of Middle Shabelle.

According to reports, Al-Shabaab fighters are pressing their attack strongly, attempting by all means to overrun the government positions to seize control. However, government forces are resisting the assault.

The Somali government has stated that its forces have repelled the attack and inflicted heavy losses on the attackers.

Al-Shabaab has previously seized key areas in Middle Shabelle and continues to expand its presence in several parts of the region under the HirShabelle administration.

Currently, major operations are underway in both Shabelle regions targeting Al-Shabaab militias, following pressure on areas previously captured by the group near towns bordering the capital, Mogadishu.

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According to reports, the blast was a suicide attack that occurred near the Gen. Dhegabadan military camp (the former candy factory site).

Eyewitnesses say an assailant wearing an explosive vest detonated himself at a location where government soldiers were stationed near the camp.

The attack resulted in fatalities and injuries among both soldiers and nearby civilians, though an exact casualty figure has not yet been confirmed.

Security forces quickly cordoned off the area, while ambulances rushed to the scene to evacuate the wounded to medical facilities across Mogadishu.

Government security agencies have not yet issued an official statement regarding the incident, which is the first of its kind in recent months at a time when the capital’s security situation had been gradually improving.

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This change began after the military operations by the Federal Government of Somalia and Mawisleyda militias in the years 2022 and 2023 in the central regions.

Since the aftermath of those military operations, which have now ended in failure claiming the lives of many Somali soldiers, the leadership of the Al-Shabaab group has started a new plan to agree with most of the tribes that participated in the Mawisley operations.

Among the areas where Al-Shabaab carried out these agreements are the regions of Hiraan, Middle Shabelle and Galgaduud, which were at the center of the Mawisley uprising and operations in 2022 and 2023.

The expansion of Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu

The most important of the agreements reached by Al-Shabaab with the tribes is the one between the Hiran and Middle Shabelle clans in March 2025, in which Al-Shabaab allowed the elders of the communities to bail the people whom Al-Shabaab captured, and to sell weapons to the Mawisley militias on the side of the separatist government.

Al-Shabaab has also allowed the reopening of major regional roads in much of the country—including Bay, Bakool, Hiiraan, and Middle Shabelle—where the group had previously imposed strict movement restrictions on people and commercial goods entering or leaving many towns.

For example, the towns of Dinsoor, Hudur and Wajid, which have been blocked by Al-Shabaab for more than eight years, are now open for the transport of commercial goods, such as those leaving Baidoa.

In the areas of Middle Shabelle and Hiiraan under their control, Al-Shabaab has eased some of the harsh restrictions on residents, such as the ban on using mobile phones with internet access. They have also stopped shutting down telephone networks, a measure they previously put in place.

The group initiated these agreements with the clans after a series of coordinated attacks in which they seized weapons and military equipment from government forces. These operations resulted in significant losses for the government troops and the Macawisley militias supporting them.

All these measures enabled Al-Shabaab to approach Mogadishu from the four corners of the capital.

Along the coastal regions, Al-Shabaab took full control weeks ago of the area from Jilib Marko to Gendershe, which lies on the outskirts of Mogadishu along the coastline. They have also seized the outskirts of Afgooye and Bal’ad districts.

Security officials familiar with the situation told Kaab TV that the government currently maintains security over approximately a 200-mile perimeter around Mogadishu, while the territories beyond that are under Al-Shabaab’s control.

Al-Shabaab has also recently activated the court they established in Beerta Cali Mahdi, on the outskirts of Afgooye district, where hundreds of people leaving Mogadishu every week will be subjected to the group’s rulings.

Security in Mogadishu

There has been much discussion about how Al-Shabaab appears to allow relative security in Mogadishu. While the group previously carried out frequent attacks, recently there has been a noticeable decline in bombings and targeted killings in the capital.

The two attacks Al-Shabaab carried out in Mogadishu this year were: the attempted assassination of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud near Villa Somalia on March 18, 2025, and the attack on Godka Jilicow prison on October 4, 2025.

Intelligence sources and security officials in Mogadishu agree that Al-Shabaab received assistance from insiders in both attacks. For example, of the eight militants involved in the NISA prison attack at Godka Jilicow, four were former Al-Shabaab defectors who had joined the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA).

It is not limited to that. Al-Shabaab has deeply infiltrated Mogadishu’s tribes, and government institutions such as security, district administrations, and important centers. The group has also reintroduced the collection of zakat from traders and markets in Mogadishu, which merchants now pay in exchange for security guarantees from Al-Shabaab.

All of these factors make it easier for Al-Shabaab to reduce or temporarily halt attacks in Mogadishu, which were mostly directed at government buildings and commercial areas. Security sources believe that now that the group has obtained the financial resources they wanted and wields influence over most government institutions, there is little reason for them to carry out large-scale attacks in the capital.

However, two important questions remain: Are Al-Shabaab preparing to gradually take over the entire government administration, and are they planning to position themselves to control the next government in Mogadishu?

The other question is how long the relative calm they are currently satisfied with in Mogadishu will last, given that it serves their interests.

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Al-Shabaab is said to have encircled Xarardheere from three directions, where clan-based Ma’awiisley militia have been deployed in recent months.

“Yesterday [Friday] the Shabaab launched a heavy attack on the town. The fighting caused many deaths. It is only clan militia who are resisting them,” said a resident named Mohamed Aamin.

Both the Galmudug administration and the Federal Government of Somalia have been accused of failing to provide reinforcements to the clan militia holding the town, while Al-Shabaab has blocked supply routes leading into Xarardheere.

As a result, food and essential goods have sharply increased in price, with the blockade tightening around the coastal district.

Security analyst Mohamed Sahal noted that Xarardheere has long been of strategic importance to Al-Shabaab, as it was once a landing point for smuggled weapons and foreign fighters.

“For that reason, recapturing Xarardheere is of great significance for Shabaab,” Sahal said.

The group also previously used Xarardheere as a base for hijacking ships, often working in partnership with pirate networks, generating millions of dollars in ransom.

Clan-based Ma’awiisley fighters, together with Galmudug-aligned forces, captured Xarardheere in early 2023, expelling Al-Shabaab.

However, since then, Al-Shabaab has carried out multiple attacks that have inflicted casualties, alongside roadside bombings and assaults on nearby villages.

FEAR SPREADS NEAR MOGADISHU

Meanwhile, in Middle Shabelle region, reports indicate that local elders recently held a meeting with Al-Shabaab members in what was described as a clan-based dialogue.

Heavily armed Al-Shabaab fighters reportedly arrived in the Maxaa Saciid area of Warsheikh district, where they met with community elders.

Residents in Warsheikh, who spoke to Kaab TV on condition of anonymity, said that Al-Shabaab raised issues concerning the clan militias known as Ma’awiisley.

Residents say they fear the militants’ incursion into the area could attract airstrikes by Somalia’s international partners, as there are no government forces to protect the civilian population.

Warsheikh lies about 61km northeast of Mogadishu.

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The footage, which lasted just over two minutes, shows Al-Shabaab fighters ambushing troops from the Somali Federal Government forces.

Al-Shabaab claimed that during the attack they seized military vehicles and weapons, and killed government soldiers.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Al-Shabaab carried out a bombing in the Dayniile district.

The explosion, caused by a landmine planted in the ground, killed at least one police officer -identified as Mohamed Aadan Nuur known as Arooray – was killed in the attack, according to confirmed reports by the police and eyewitnesses.

Up to six others were injured.

The militant group claimed the responsibility for the explosion.

The Banadir Regional Administration and security agencies have so far not commented on the Al-Shabaab attacks inside Mogadishu.

Last week, Al-Shabaab was expelled from Bariire town in Lower Shabelle region, which they had recently recaptured.

A joint operation by Ugandan troops serving under the African Union mission (AUSSOM) and Somali government forces led to a fierce battle in Bariire, resulting in the government taking control of the town.

In recent days, Al-Shabaab has intensified its presence in areas surrounding Mogadishu, particularly near Afgooye and Balcad.

Last month, Al-Shabaab took control of the Sabiid and Caanole areas, located less than 35km from Mogadishu.

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