Lt. Colonel Nuur Farey, a senior commander of the Somali national army, was shot dead by a man in military uniform on Saturday, an official said.

Bulle Ali, a security official in the region, told Anadolu that the commander of the 14th October Brigade of the Somali National Army was killed while addressing soldiers on the outskirts of the town of Afoye, Lower Shabelle region.

Afgoye is 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu.

He said the attacker, who seemed to be an al-Shabaab infiltrator, was caught by the soldiers and an investigation was underway.

Recapturing towns

The 14th October Brigade, created in memory of the victims of the deadliest terrorist attack in Somalia’s history, has been leading mobilizations aimed at recapturing towns held by al-Shabaab terrorist group in the Lower Shabelle region.

On October 14, 2017, a truck bomb exploded at a busy intersection in Mogadishu, killing 587 people.

“With deep sorrow, I send my deepest condolences to the family, relatives, the Armed Forces, and all the Somali people, on the tragic death of Lieutenant Colonel Nur Mohamed Gaabow (Nuur Farey), Commander of the 14th October Brigade of the Somali National Army,” Brig. Gen. Abdullahi Ahmed Sheikh, former special forces commander, said on X.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the killing.

In November, four Emirati troops and a Bahraini military officer were shot dead at a military camp in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab had claimed responsibility, saying one of its infil trators was behind the attack.