Wednesday, March 05, 2014
Somali militant group al-Shabab says it has executed three men who it accused of spying for U.S. or Somali government intelligence agencies.
The al-Qaida-linked group announced the executions Tuesday on its Facebook page.
It said one of the men, 29-year-old Mohamed Abdulle Gelle, guided a U.S. drone strike that killed an al-Shabab commander in Somalia's Middle Juba region last October.
That was likely the attack that killed al-Shabab's top explosives expert, known as Anta, on October 28.
Al-Shabab said a second man, 47-year-old Ahmed Abdullahi Farole, had spied for the administration of Somalia's Puntland region.
The third man, not identified, was accused of spying for the Somali government.
The statement said the three were killed by firing squad in the town of Barawe.
Al-Shabab has shown signs of a resurgence in recent months after losing control of most major Somali cities in 2011 and 2012.
Last Thursday, the militant group claimed responsibility for a bomb blast in Mogadishu that killed 11 people.
The week before, al-Shabab militants stormed the presidential palace, killing 17 people, although the president was unharmed.