ZCZC
BFF-22
SOMALIA-UNREST
Somali army kills 16 al-Shabab militants in southern region
MOGADISHU, Jan 18, 2020 (BSS/XINHUA) – Somali security forces killed 16
al-Shabab militants and injured 20 others in intense clashes in the southern
Middle Shabelle region on Friday night, a military officer confirmed on
Saturday.
Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud, commander of unit 27 of the Somali National Army
(SNA), told reporters that the militants launched an attack on a base used by
Somali forces in the Haji Ali area, but the army fended off the attack and
inflicted casualties on the fighters.
The army killed 16 militants and injured 20 others, the commander said.
“Our army is now pursuing the remnants who ran to the forest,” he added,
noting that four government soldiers were killed during the fighting.
However, the al-Qaida allied terrorist group said they overran the army
base and killed five soldiers.
The group claimed that its fighters also seized two military vehicles, guns
and ammunition.
On Jan. 10, Somali national forces killed three al-Shabab militants and
captured another during an operation in the Lower Juba region in the southern
part of the country.
Somali troops have intensified operations against al-Shabab in southern
regions where the militants still hold swathes of rural areas, carrying out
ambushes and planting landmines.
BSS/XINHUA/FI/ 1717 hrs