Somalia’s intelligence chief on the spotlight amid escalating terror attacks

[Deeq A.]

Somalia’s intelligence chief faces tough questions about his future in the wake of a bloody complex attack on a hotel close to the country’s presidential palace on Sunday, which killed over a dozen people and injured many others. 

The attack, the third in over two months, was claimed by the al-Shabab militant group, which faces military pressure across the country amid ongoing tribal uprisings that have driven it out of the significant ground in recent months has shocked the Horn of Africa nation which recovering from decades of civil unrest. 

On early Tuesday, a team of military investigators tasked to investigate the latest attack have questioned Mahad Salad, the Somali intelligence chief who had subsequently pushed back questions over the recent attacks, a rare attempt for an accountability.  

The probe, ordered by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, whose administration fended off criticism over the attacks, including the devastating double bombings in the Somali capital’s Zobe business district in October that killed at least 150 people, is expected to submit a comprehensive report from their findings within a couple of weeks. 

Publicly, the latest attack has put the spotlight squarely on the Somali spy chief who is responsible for coordinating intelligence gathering between security agencies. Mr. Salad’s often tumultuous tenure as director of national intelligence was marked by frequent clashes with other senior intelligence and security officials that saw several officers arrested while others were dismissed as a result.  

But speculation was rife that Mr. Salad, a close ally, and long-time political warrior of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, could be forced to resign amid growing criticism by officials and politicians over a ‘systematic intelligence failure’ by the National Security and Intelligence Agency (NISA) to prevent the recent attacks that preceded subsequent security threat alerts. 

The critical and seemingly unlikely location hit by al-Shabab appears to have taken officials by surprise while signaling that the group, despite having lost a significant ground, is gaining attacks coordination strength, morale, and hence expansion of its reach. 

As security forces battled over 20 hours to end a siege by six militants, questions immediately arose over what measures security forces had taken to prevent another such attack. 

Reports also emerged that Somali authorities were warned about lax security around the highly fortified presidential palace before the latest attack was carried out.

Al-Shabab has long found vital institutions, such as the hilltop state house favorite target, taking advantage of any perceived lax security measures in place in and outside protective barriers across the supposedly secure area dotted with closely-erected checkpoints.

The well-coordinated and audacious attacks, which highlighted al-Shabab’s strength, also underscored the weaknesses of the Somali security forces. 

According to security experts, the terrorist group employs such attacks as a signal of power and demonstrate that the ongoing campaign against them failed to diminish its ability to humiliate the government with brazen retaliatory attacks. It is also seen as an indication that it’s still able to virtually operate unchecked. 

“They are sending a message to the population that they still retain a strong presence and can strike at will while under attack,” said Ahmed Abdi, a Somali security expert of al-Shabab’s recent attack.

“More of a gesture to their supporters that they are a force to reckon with, too.”

To the surprise of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the attackers, who were allegedly traveling in a military pickup, drove through five checkpoints unhindered before reaching their target location, raising suspicions of potential involvements by senior officials in the attack coordination, prompting the arrests of soldiers and junior security officers in relation to the attack. 

The arrests also several affected officials accused of lapses that contributed to the deaths of many people. 

The assault, closely watched by local and international experts, has rattled some foreign diplomats in the Somali capital who have reportedly begun preparing contingency plans for emergency evacuations in the wake of the latest attack amid safety concerns.  

The increased pressure on Mogadishu by militants, which has seen a spike in deadly attacks on the government and civilian targets, has further increased pressure on the government amid growing demands for the resignation of the intelligence chief who was criticized for missing or ignoring prior threat alert warnings about the three latest attacks.

Since he took office seven months ago, the Somali intelligence chief Mahad Salad, one of the president’s closest and staunch allies, was subsequently blamed for lacking mastery of the security tradecraft and providing inadequate briefings that often turned out to be inaccurate, a scenario that some officials believe prevented security agencies from preventing militants attacks. 

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