Dhusamareb — A joint military operation by Somali government troops and their allied foreign partners killed a senior Al-Shabaab commander in the Galgadud region.

Olol Ali Guled, who served as a high-ranking Al-Shabaab official, and four other militants were killed in the covert raid that was conducted in Shubah village near El-Garas town.

Besides the murder of the top commander and his fellow operatives, a woman and four children lost their lives in the military operation, according to security sources.

The attack on the Al-Shabaab base came hours after Somali troops along with local clan fighters drove out the militants from El-La-helay and other nearby areas in Galmudug state.

The region has been the epicenter of a heavy military offensive aimed at flushing out Al-Shabaab from the remaining pockets ahead of the start of the planned second phase of the operation.

Al-Shabaab is the largest and most kinetically active al-Qaeda network in the world and has proved both its will and capability to attack partner and U.S. forces and threaten U.S. security interests.

Somalia remains key to the security environment in East Africa. U.S. Africa Command's forces will continue training, advising, and equipping partner forces to give them the tools that they need to degrade al-Shabaab.