An Al-Shabaab militant cleaning his gun. The Somalia-based terrorist
group claims it attacked a military base in the south and killed 27
soldiers. FILE PHOTO | REUTERS
Heavily-armed Al-Shabaab fighters on Monday stormed a military
base in southern Somalia, leaving several dead, a local army official
and witnesses said.
Military sources in the region said
the attack targeted the Bar-sanguni military base which lies some 40
kilometres (24 miles) north of the regional capital Kismayo.
The
attackers rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a checkpoint before
gunmen attacked the base, exchanging gunfire with soldiers for over an
hour.
"Al-Shabaab terrorists attacked Bar-sanguni
military base early this morning and there was heavy fighting. The
Somali armed forces have repelled the attackers but there were
casualties inflicted on the both sides during the armed confrontation,"
Mohamed Bile, a military commander in a nearby village said by phone.
"We don't have the exact number of the dead so far but there it could be more than ten," he added.
Several witnesses in nearby villages reported a heavy blast followed by sustained gunfire.
The Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab claimed in a statement they had
killed 27 soldiers in the attack on a base "which the Americans built
for the apostate militias."
The Shabaab has been fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu for over a decade.
Despite
losing towns and territory in recent years the group continues to carry
out regular bombings and armed raids on government, security and
civilian targets in the capital and elsewhere.
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