Somali forces kill mastermind of failed assassination attempt on President Hassan Sheikh

Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) has announced that its forces have killed Mohamed Abdi Dhiblaawe Afrax, a senior Al-Shabaab commander, during a planned operation in Ugunji, Lower Shabelle region.

NISA confirmed that Afrax was the mastermind behind the failed assassination attempt targeting the convoy of the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on March 18, 2025.

The March 18, 2025 attack

At around 10:32 a.m. that day, the President’s convoy came under attack near Ceel-gaabta junction in Xamar-Jajab district, as he was on his way to the airport to join frontline troops in Hirshabelle.