MOGADISHU, Somalia 

Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) on Thursday said that it has carried out coordinated operations targeting al-Shabaab leaders and fighters, killing 24 terrorists.

The operations were carried out in collaboration with the country’s international security partners in Hiran, Galgadud, and Lower Shabelle provinces.

Abdi Hiray, who had been pursued for a long time by the spy agency, was among those killed in the targeted operations in the Hiran region, while 21 terrorists were killed in Tugarey village in the Lower Shabelle region and the central Galgadud region, according to a statement by the spy agency NISA.

Hiray was a “notorious bloodthirsty figure” responsible for orchestrating numerous plots and attacks that harmed civilians in the south-central Hirshabelle state, NISA said.

“These targeted operations are part of ongoing efforts to weaken the Khawarij group and prevent any form of conspiracy they may organize against the Somali people,” the statement said.

Khawarij is a term the Somali government uses to describe the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab.

Since July, the Somali army, with the support of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) and other international partners, has increased operations against the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group in Somalia's south and central provinces.

Al-Shabaab, which has waged an insurgency against the Somali government for more than 16 years, frequently targets security forces, officials, and civilians.