An Ethiopian federal court has sentenced 60 Al-Shabaab militants to prison terms ranging from 2.5 to 18 years.

The sentencing follows their arrest two years ago in Ethiopia's Somali State, where they had crossed the border from Somalia with plans to carry out coordinated terrorist attacks.

The operation to capture the militants, which took place in July 2022, was a blow to Al-Shabaab's ambitions of expanding its influence into Ethiopia. Ethiopian Federal Police reported that the militants aimed to exploit security gaps in the Somali State region to establish a base of operations, from which they could launch attacks both within Ethiopia and across the Horn of Africa.

The militants were caught in a sweeping four-day security operation in the Afdheer region, close to the Ethiopia-Somalia border. Ethiopian security forces, working in tandem with local communities, launched a well-coordinated assault that led to the capture of 92 militants, including two senior leaders.

Authorities also seized a significant cache of weapons, including AK-47 rifles, explosives, and vehicles believed to be part of a larger plan to destabilize the region.

The group was believed to be in the early stages of establishing a logistical base in the Somali State to coordinate terrorist activities both in Ethiopia and Somalia.

Al-Shabaab, an extremist group that originated in Somalia, has long been a destabilizing force in the Horn of Africa, carrying out deadly attacks in Somalia, Kenya, and beyond. While Ethiopia has been relatively insulated from large-scale attacks compared to its neighbors, the country's proximity to Somalia and its contribution of troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has made it a target.