Former Somali prison chief recounts drone attack on his residence in Doolow district

Nairobi (HOL) — Former Somali Correctional Corps commander Gen. Mahad Abdirahman Shub on Friday recounted a reported drone strike that targeted his residence in Doolow district of Gedo region earlier this month.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the attack, Shub said the attack occurred at night while he was asleep. He said he woke up after hearing a massive explosion and seeing an aircraft passing overhead.

Former Somali Correctional Service commander Gen. Mahad Abdirahman Aden Shub survived the reported strike with minor injuries, while four civilians, including his wife, were also injured, according to Jubaland State.

Shub said that after the attack, he and others at the scene evacuated the house and the injured were taken to Doolow district hospital.

He said local security forces and officials rushed to assist, and that he received medical treatment at the hospital the same night.

At daybreak, Shub said he inspected the house where he had been staying and found severe damage to the building, other parts of the property and the surrounding area.

During the interview, Shub also discussed events that preceded the reported airstrike.

He said he had noticed unusual behaviour among some people around him, including one individual who repeatedly made phone calls from certain locations.

Shub said some of his associates later left the area, while others travelled to Baidoa and Mogadishu.

He also said meetings and communications he held after arriving in Doolow raised suspicions that information may have been passed to other parties.

His claims about the perpetrators of the reported airstrike and possible links to individuals he suspected have not been independently verified.

Jubaland has raised concerns over Türkiye’s military and political involvement in Somalia following the reported strike in Doolow, which the administration said injured five people. Jubaland’s Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism previously accused Turkish military aircraft of carrying out the attack.