Somalia national army backed by African union troops in Somalia have conducted security operation in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Saturday night. Â Banadir region police chief, Bashir Abshir Gedi, says.
Soldiers carried out the operation in Hamar Jajab and Waberi districts in Mogadishu to hunt down Al-Shabaab suspects, and arrested 20 people suspected to be members of  Al-Shabaab, who were most of the youth.
“These people (suspects) were planning attacks on the city but our intelligence helped us arrest them before they could do anything,” Gedi said. Al-Shabaab has been fighting against the Somali government for years, staging frequent attacks in the country.
The operation comes as Mogadishu prepares for presidential election scheduled for Nov. 30. Parliamentary elections are ongoing in various parts of the country. AMISOM and Somali forces have beefed up security in Mogadishu ahead of the election, erecting security barriers and putting up checks on vehicles during day and night.
