MOGADISHU: Somalia’s army said on Saturday that soldiers had killed scores of Al Shabaab gunmen who attacked two key military bases, while police said five civilians died in a suicide bombing in Mogadishu.
In a particularly bloody day for Somalia, where the Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab launches regular attacks against government and civilian targets, both sides claimed they had inflicted heavy casualties on the other.
Death tolls could not be independently confirmed.
In the early hours of the morning, Al Shabaab targeted the military bases in the towns of Awdheegle and Bariire some 30 kilometres apart. Both are forward operating bases in the fight against the Islamist group.
03 Apr 2021 / 19:55 H. Pix for illustration purposes.
MOGADISHU: Al-Shabaab Islamist fighters attacked two key military bases in Somalia Saturday, detonating car bombs at both locations before engaging in an intense gun battle, an army official and witnesses said.
The attacks happened in the southern region of Lower Shabelle on bases in the towns of Awdheegle and Bariire some 30 kilometres apart. Both are forward operating bases in the fight against the Islamist group.
“The assailants tried to attack but thanks to our brave soldiers who knew about the tricks of the assailants, the militants were defeated and their wounded and dead bodies are strewn around, we will provide you the details later,“ army chief General Odowa Yusuf Rage told reporters.
Al-Shabaab attacks two key Somali bases
Saturday April 03 2021
The attacks happened in the southern region of Lower Shabelle on bases in the towns of Awdheegle and Bariire some 30 kilometres (17 miles) apart. Photo | AFP
Summary
Witnesses in Awdheegle home to the larger of the two bases said Somali troops had repelled the militants after around an hour of heavy fighting.
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Al-Shabaab Islamist fighters attacked two key military bases in Somalia Saturday, detonating car bombs at both locations before engaging in an intense gun battle, an army official and witnesses said.
The attacks happened in the southern region of Lower Shabelle on bases in the towns of Awdheegle and Bariire some 30 kilometres (17 miles) apart. Both are forward operating bases in the fight against the Islamist group.
MOGADISHU (Sputnik) - The Somali armed forces have repelled an attack by the Al-Shabaab group (a part of the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation) in the country s south.