![A road is blocked after Al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab militants stormed the Ballidogle American special forces military base roughly 100 kilometers northwest of Mogadishu using vehicle bombs followed by sporadic gunfire from fighters in Mogadishu, Somalia on 30 September 2019. [Sadak Mohamed - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/20190930_2_38487199_48045734.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Air strikes in the central state of Hirshabelle killed 50 members of Al-Shabaab, the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said on Tuesday, Anadolu has reported.
NISA said that the raids took place in Darul-Nimca and Al-Kowthar in the Middle Shabelle region and Beera Yabaal in the Hiran region, where 17 Al-Shabaab fighters were killed and their vehicles were destroyed. The second operation targeting the armed group took place in Darul-Nimca, killing 19 and destroying their vehicles.
On the same day, a third operation targeted Al-Shabaab in the Beera Yabaal area, which killed 12 members of the organisation, which is designated as a terrorist group by many countries, said NISA. The security agency added that some senior members of Al-Shabaab were among those killed in the air strikes, but did not name them or their positions.
Al-Shabaab launched pre-dawn attacks on Tuesday in several villages in the Hiran region. The state-run news agency SONNA reported that the army backed by local militias thwarted the attacks.
Somalia has been plagued by insecurity for years, with the main threats emanating from Al-Shabaab and Daesh. Al-Shabaab has been fighting the Somali government since 2007, as well as the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), a multidimensional mission authorised by the African Union and mandated by the UN Security Council.
READ: Somalia says army, allied militias repelled Al-Shabaab attacks, killed more than 130