Somalia executes 2 soldiers convicted of helping Al-Shabab kill commander

Somalia executes 2 soldiers convicted of helping Al-Shabab kill commander
Somali National Army escort members of the press to hideouts used by the terrorist group al-Shabaab in the Sabiid-Aanole area. (AFP)
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Updated 12 August 2025

Somalia executes 2 soldiers convicted of helping Al-Shabab kill commander

Somalia executes 2 soldiers convicted of helping Al-Shabab kill commander
  • A military court in the capital Mogadishu sentenced the two soldiers to death in August, after they were convicted of killing their battalion commander in July
  • One was found to have received the explosive device, while the second placed it under the bed of their commander, before it was detonated remotely

MOGADISHU: Two Somali soldiers sentenced to death for conspiring with extremist militant group Al-Shabab to assassinate a commander were executed on Monday, military court officials said.
The impoverished Horn of Africa nation is witnessing a rise in attacks by the Al-Qaeda-linked militia, fueling concerns of a jihadist resurgence.
The group has seized dozens of towns and villages in an offensive that has reversed nearly all of the gains the army made in 2022 and 2023.
A military court in the capital Mogadishu sentenced the two soldiers to death in August, after they were convicted of killing their battalion commander in July.
One was found to have received the explosive device, while the second placed it under the bed of their commander, before it was detonated remotely.
“They were executed today for their involvement in the assassination of Commander Aided Mohamed Ali,” prosecutor Hassan Siyad Mohamed said.
“Anyone found having links with the Kharijites and proven, one day God will expose you, and you will come out, and we will find you and execute you by firing squad,” said Liban Ali Yarrow, chairman of the supreme military court, using the term officials adopt to describe Al-Shabab.
Three Al-Shabab members found guilty last week of killing people in Mogadishu were executed by firing squad.


Death toll in Louisville UPS plane crash rises to 9

Death toll in Louisville UPS plane crash rises to 9
Updated 6 sec ago

Death toll in Louisville UPS plane crash rises to 9

Death toll in Louisville UPS plane crash rises to 9
  • Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will be on site later Wednesday morning to begin the process of finding out what went wrong
  • Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said nine dead people had been found at the scene of the crash

KENTUCKY, USA: The death toll from the crash of a UPS cargo plane that erupted into a fireball moments after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday has risen to nine, city and state officials said Wednesday.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will be on site later Wednesday morning to begin the process of finding out what went wrong when the 34-year-old MD-11 cargo plane caught fire around 5:13 p.m. ET Tuesday and then crashed.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said nine dead people had been found at the scene of the crash. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on social media it was possible there would be more fatalities. The plane had a crew of three according to UPS and officials said none of the crew survived.
Several buildings in an industrial area beyond the runway were on fire after the crash, with thick, black smoke seen rising into the evening sky.
Officials said 11 victims had been taken to hospitals on Tuesday.
A government official told Reuters at least 10 others remain unaccounted for. Beshear told CNN that two people remain in critical condition and added it could have been much worse.
“This plane barely missed a restaurant bar. It was very close to a very large Ford plant with hundreds, if not a thousand plus workers,” Beshear said. ” It was very close to our convention center that’s having a big livestock show that people were arriving for.” The international airport in Louisville reopened to air traffic early on Wednesday, though the runway where the accident happened is expected to remain closed for another 10 days, officials said.
UPS said Wednesday it canceled a parcel sorting shift that usually begins in the midmorning at its facility at the airport after it had halted package sorting operations Tuesday.
US aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse said on Wednesday he has not seen any evidence of a link between the accident and a 36-day US government shutdown that has strained air traffic control.
NTSB investigators will be looking to retrieve the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder that will shed light on the crash.
Brickhouse said investigators are expected to focus on the number one engine which was seen on video to be ignited, and appeared to have separated from the aircraft. “It is designed to fly if you lose one engine, but we need to see the effect of losing that engine on the rest of the aircraft,” Brickhouse said.
The triple-engine plane was fueled for an 8-1/2 hour flight to Honolulu.
It was the first UPS cargo plane to crash since August 2013, when an Airbus aircraft went down on a landing approach to the international airport in Birmingham, Alabama, killing both crew.