Photos of newly trained Al-Shabaab militants have been released online, with the group’s spokesperson Ali Dheere addressing graduands in a ceremony which was held at an undisclosed location within Somalia.

The group said the new fighters will join its suicide brigade trained for carrying out the suicide attacks in Somalia.

According to Christopher Anzalone, the graduation ceremony purportedly took place this month and Ali Rage does mention recent base captures including in Masagawa and Buulo Mareer from last month in his fiery speeches. The attacks left several members of security forces dead.

At Masagawa for instance, the militants took away heavy weaponry meant for members of security forces who recently graduated from Eritrea. In Bulo Marer, the militants killed several members of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces [UPDF] in one of the worst military camp attack in recent months.

The group operates in a manner which doesn’t give members of the public immediate knowledge on their activities.

Christopher Anzalone said among those present on the dais alongside Ali Rage is Suldan Al Mohamed [Suldan Al Muhammad; Suldaan Aala Maxamed], longtime zakat tax and humanitarian aid chief who is reportedly now senior adviser to Al-Shabaab amir Abu Ubayda Ahmad Umar

Members of this deadly group often target the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] bases and the local forces some who recently trained in Eritrea and Uganda.

For 16 years, Al-Shabaab has been fighting to topple the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia based in Mogadishu, which is now preparing to take over the security resonsibility of the country from AU forces withdrawing by December 2024.

The militant group was defeated in recent military operations by Somali army and local clan militia in Galmudug and HirShabelle states, with the government claimed it liberated 80 new areas.