"Al Shabaab militants attacked early in the morning. Five soldiers
died and 12 others were wounded," captain Aden Nur told Reuters from
Baidoa. Six al Shabaab fighters were killed, he added.
Al Shabaab kills five at Somali military base: army captain(Africa Time)
Al Shabaab insurgents attacked a Somali military base on Tuesday and killed five soldiers in two hours of fierce fighting near the northwestern town of Baidoa, a military officer said.
"Al Shabaab militants attacked early in the morning. Five soldiers died and 12 others were wounded," captain Aden Nur told Reuters from Baidoa. Six al Shabaab fighters were killed, he added.
Abdiasis
Abu Musab, the group's military operations spokesman, said it had
ambushed a truck carrying troops to reinforce the base, killed 11
soldiers and seized seven guns. "We exploded the truck using a planted bomb and then ambushed," he told Reuters.
It was not possible to verify the death toll independently. Al Shabaab has inflated casualty figures in the past.
The
Islamist group, which wants to topple Somalia's Western-backed
government, carries out frequent attacks on military targets and
civilian facilities like hotels and restaurants, mostly in the capital
Mogadishu.
Al Shabaab, which has links to al Qaeda
was behind an attack in January on a base for Kenyan troops working
with an African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia. The group said it
killed more than 100 soldiers, but Kenyan officials have not yet
revealed the death toll.
إرسال تعليق