War On Terrorism: Somalia’s Puntland Region Executes 21 al-Shabab Fighters

Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland has executed twenty-one men after they were convicted of being members of the Islamist militant group al-Shabab. They were sentenced by a military court in Galkayo and shot by a firing squad.

State radio said 18 of the men had carried out assassinations and bombings over more than a decade.

Similar death sentences have been handed down by courts in other parts of Somalia before but this is reported to be the largest number of executions of al-Shabab members ever in Puntland.

The authorities in Puntland had vowed to bring to justice any members of al-Shabab or people found assisting the group in its attacks.

As the executions were being carried out on Sunday, al-Shabab fighters stormed the town of Wisil in the Mudug region. There are some reports that some soldiers were killed when an army base was attacked.