Doolow - Dawn of Drone Despotism?
Nearly a month has passed since a powerful blast destroyed the home of General Mahad, widely known as Taliye Shub, in Doolow, a political dissident who opposed the government of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The incident now appears to have been a targeted assassination attempt that, for some reason, failed. Evidence is now mounting that it was an airstrike - almost certainly conducted by a drone, possibly a Bayraktar Akıncı. The botched operation likely involved senior Somali government officials and was coordinated with Turkish military personnel directing drone strikes from Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport.
In recent days, Gen. Mahad has spoken openly about the incident, introducing intriguing new dimensions to the narrative. He recounted that on the night of September 3, he woke up to the loud roar of an aircraft engine—which he claims was an F-16 fighter jet. He recalls a projectile striking his bedroom, followed minutes later by a second projectile.
Crucially, the General’s description suggests the ordnance may have "hovered" over him before redirecting towards the bathroom and exploding. This account strongly points towards a loitering munition or "kamikaze drone," slightly contradicting initial reports of a missile dropped from a fixed-wing aircraft.
Multiple resident accounts confirm hearing the distinct engine noise of one or two fixed-wing aircraft operating over Doolow that night.
Following the attack, Gen. Mahad was initially rushed to Doolow Hospital before being transferred to Dolo Ado, Ethiopia, for further medical examinations to treat minor blast wounds and shrapnel injuries.
Meanwhile, local investigations have intensified; Jubaland security forces have detained and are currently interrogating a member of the General's staff. Gen. Shub, in the media interview on Geed Fadhi podcast, noted that this staffer was inside the house that night, actively using a laptop and a smartphone while the General slept, raising strong suspicions that they were actively directing the precision strike.
Blast signature
Intriguingly, no physical evidence of projectile debris or missile fragments has been recovered to conclusively prove the weapon was fired by a hostile aircraft. This lack of evidence has given the federal government a layer of plausible deniability, even though few local analysts accept the alternative narrative that the blast was caused by an accidental Improvised Explosive Device (IED) assembly inside the compound.
This absence of a typical footprint points towards advanced capabilities. Turkey possesses stealth munition technology designed to leave no trace, manufacturing a specialised bladed weapon modelled after the US "Ninja Missile." This weapon is engineered to drastically minimise collateral damage and leave zero explosive blast signatures. Named the Neşter ("Scalpel" in Turkish), it is a dedicated kinetic, non-explosive precision-guided munition. Instead of using a traditional high-explosive or fragmentation warhead, the Neşter utilises a kinetic system featuring pop-out, sword-like blades that deploy just before impact. Relying entirely on high velocity and mechanical force to eliminate its target, the weapon contains no explosive compounds. Consequently, it leaves no blast crater, no thermal scorch marks, and zero chemical residue—severely limiting traditional forensic indicators at a strike scene.
If such capabilities were used, it would come as no surprise. Turkey is a major arms exporter that views Somalia as a primary theatre to test and improve its advanced weapons capabilities. Ankara’s military-industrial complex is strongly aligned with President Erdogan’s robust strategy of foreign military power projection, viewing direct involvement in live conflicts as highly beneficial to its defence goals.
The assassination plot
General Mahad claims that the plot to assassinate him was masterminded by Mahad Salad, the Director General of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA). However, the primary focus of attention has shifted to Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur Jama, the Speaker of Parliament, who is accused of ordering the operation to eliminate the dissident general. Multiple credible reports suggest that Jama convened a high-level meeting days before the attack, pressuring both Somali and Turkish military officials to execute the Doolow operation. At the time, Jama was exercising presidential executive powers because President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was out of the country.
The Speaker is also reported to have ordered increased drone strikes on former South West State President Abdiaziz Laftagareen’s forces in Baidoa. The strikes and violence in and around Baidoa have triggered significant displacement – upwards of 20,000 people have fled the city and sought refuge in Al-Shabaab territories.
This is not the first time Jama has been linked to state-sponsored violence; he was previously implicated in the controversial December 2017 night raid by security forces targeting the Mogadishu residence of prominent opposition leader Abdirahman Abdishakur. Jama at the time was a deputy DG of NISA. That assault resulted in a fierce 40-minute gun battle that left five of Abdishakur's personal bodyguards dead and the opposition leader lightly wounded.
The rise of Jama as the incumbent administration's chief violent enforcer is worrying, owing to his past record, his influence within the military and security apparatuses and strong connections with Turkey.
Wider implications
Political assassinations are not uncommon in Somalia. The previous Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo administration was profoundly rocked by two major internal assassinations: that of Mogadishu Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman (Engineer Yarisow) and the mysterious disappearance and death of Ikran Tahlil Farah, a junior analyst and IT specialist at the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA).
More recently, under the current administration of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, a Somaliland civil aviation control specialist was brutally tortured and strangled in his Mogadishu apartment. The unresolved February 2024 murder of Abdinasir Muse Abdi Dahable soured relations and inflamed sentiments in Somaliland. Hargeisa continues to openly blame HSM’s government and state intelligence apparatus for orchestrating the execution.
What makes the Doolow attack uniquely chilling, however, is its brazen nature and unprecedented technological sophistication. Highly advanced military assets specifically acquired and designated for counter-terrorism operations are now being diverted to eliminate internal critics of the current regime.
The Doolow strike sharply highlights a compounding crisis of governance in Somalia. Utilising targeted aerial assassinations against political dissidents and regime opponents marks a dangerous militarisation of politics. If weaponising Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) or loitering munitions becomes the standard operating procedure for managing internal political disputes, it threatens to sow widespread conflict and permanent instability. Furthermore, targeting prominent regional leaders like General Mahad directly inflames deep-seated clan tensions. Such heavy-handed federal actions risk provoking localised conflict, violent vengeance, and protracted blood feuds across the country.
International partners of Somalia—chief among them the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations—must immediately lean on the federal government to halt its dangerous slide towards unlawful, politically motivated assassinations. Donor nations hold immense leverage and must use it to pressure the incumbent administration to rein in and strip Speaker Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur Jama of the executive overreach fuelling these state-sponsored operations.
Furthermore, the international community must forcefully persuade Turkey to cease its partisan entanglement in intra-Somali political power struggles, ensuring that advanced Turkish drone platforms like the Akıncı and specialised munitions are strictly restricted to legitimate counter-terrorism missions against Al-Shabaab and not used as instruments of political liquidation.
