MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – A senior officer with Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), who was leading a sensitive investigation into a recent assassination attempt on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has been mysteriously killed in Mogadishu, Caasimada Online news website reported on Saturday.
Abukar Sadiq, 31, was shot dead on Thursday night during a security operation in the Sigale neighbourhood of the capital, where he and a NISA unit were reportedly attempting to apprehend a suspected member of the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab.
According to security sources, the suspect managed to flee the scene, after which gunfire broke out. Details surrounding the incident remain unclear, but Sadiq was fatally wounded.
Sadiq had been scheduled to brief President Mohamud on Saturday regarding the progress of the investigation into the 18 March roadside bombing that targeted his motorcade on the road linking the presidential palace and Mogadishu airport.
Sadiq’s killing has raised serious questions about internal security within the agency. NISA has detained several officers who were with him during the operation. Sources within the intelligence community suggest growing suspicion that Sadiq may have been deliberately targeted by colleagues due to the sensitive nature of the information he had uncovered.
Critics have long accused NISA of infiltration by Al-Shabaab elements, a claim that has gained traction amid repeated incidents of internal violence and murky disappearances. In a notable case in 2021, Ikran Tahlil, a young female intelligence officer, went missing near NISA headquarters. Her fate remains unknown, and no formal investigation has been conducted into her disappearance.
The Somali government has yet to comment publicly on Sadiq’s death or the implications for the broader investigation into the attempt on the president’s life.
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