At least 20 killed in suicide attack, gun-battle in central Somalia

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA)​​​​​​​ – At least 20 people were killed and score others were injured in a suicide attack by the al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab on Galmudug regional forces on Sunday morning, followed by a gunfight between them in the Mudug region of central Somalia.

According to Major Mohamed Mire Mohamud, deputy police chief of Galmudug, the incident began with a suicide attack followed by fierce fighting between regional paramilitary forces in Wasil, Mudug region.

He told the media that remnants of al-Shabaab attacked the Galmudug Security Force and that gunfights are still underway.

"At around 4:30 am, as the soldiers were preparing for the morning prayers, al-Shabaab ambushed them and started with an explosion," regional police says and claimed, "But they suffered casualties."

According to the al-Shabaab propaganda website, the militants overran the base and killed at least 34 soldiers.

Wasil, the scene of the attack, is located near the town of Hobyo, which is approximately 857 kilometers (532 miles) from Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.

The attack comes a day after the security minister of Somalia's semiautonomous region of Puntland survived a bomb attempt on his convoy in the country's northeastern province of Bari.

In that attack, at least one soldier was killed and three others were injured, and the al-Shabaab group claimed responsibility.