The Ministry of Defense of Somalia said that the top leaders of al-Shabaab, such as Mahad Karatee and Ahmed Diriye, fought in Jilib & Hargeisa-Yarey district in Middle Jubba region.
The statement issued by the ministry and published on the ministry’s Twitter page said that heavy losses have been suffered by the militias who were loyal to the two leaders of al-Shabaab.
The Ministry of Defense said that this war was followed by the arrest of the soldiers of the group, which is under the command of Mahad Karatee.
However, Al-Shabaab leaders are said to have had a bitter dispute over financial management for some time, according to the Daily Nation newspaper in Nairobi, which said they shared intelligence reports.
The leader of Al-Shabaab, Ahmed Diriye Abu Ubeyda, tried to fire the head of intelligence and finance of the group, Mahad Karatee, and the head of foreign operations, Bashir Qorgaab, after they quarreled over who manages the group’s finances.
Bashir Qorgaab, who the US government said was responsible for the attack on the Manda Bay base in Kenya, was killed this year in a US airstrike.
The report published in the Daily Nation newspaper says that new intelligence reports show that Qorgaab’s death has exacerbated the conflict and suspicion within the group.
