A top military commander within the special forces of Somali National Army was on Friday killed following a gunfire exchange with personal suspected to be working in army.
Mohamed Suleiman of Danaab special forces, the elite officers usually trained by foreign countries, succumbed to injuries immediately after shootout.
The case could yet again raise questions over vetting by Somali goverment. It's believed that a number of Al-Shabaab sympathises work with goverment.
Suleiman was attached to Gorgor Company, which is specialised in VVIP protection and among other dangerous missions including freeing kidnapped people.
"Commander of Gorgor, a company of Danab special forces was shot dead in a gunfire involving other personnel in Mogadishu," reports indicated.
"Mohamed Suleiman Abukar was Commander of a company trained by Turkish forces. Police say personnel involved in the shooting are in custody."
The incident comes barely a month after Danaab special forces were involved in an operation that saw Al-Shabaab militants killed after trying to storm Ballidogle military base.
The base is home to U.S. special forces, Somalia’s Danaab and Washington D.C.-based Bancroft Global, which has a U.S. government contract to train Danaab.
The Somali National News agency said the attack was over in 10 minutes.
“I don’t think even they thought they would succeed,” the Somali official said.
“But there are a lot of military gains happening in Lower Shabelle and across the country... This is a way to show ‘we are still here; we are still alive,’ to get attention.”