Somali military kills at least 10 al-Shabaab militants

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Somali forces killed at least 10 al-Shabaab militants and injured several others wounded in the Lower Shabelle region after the group attacked four districts in the region, local media said on Sunday.

Ali Waal -- a senior police officer in the town of Qoryooley, one the district attacked by al-Shabaab -- told media that the government forces killed at least 10 fighters after an attack on military base in the town.

”Al-Shabaab fighters had attacked our base in Qoryooley but we managed to overcome them and killed 10 of them,” Ali Waal said.

Some of our soldiers were wounded during the attack, he added.

According to media reports, the group also attacked three other districts in the region but the casualties remained unknown.

“Heavy combat erupts in Lower Shabelle region after Al-Shabaab attacked SNA [Somali National Army] bases in Qoryooley, Awdhegle, as well as in Barrire town area,” Goobjoog News local radio reported.

Meanwhile, Somali-based group al-Shabaab claimed that it had killed 14 African Union peacekeeping mission forces from Burundi and wounded 8 others.

African Union mission in Somalia known as (AMISOM) has not yet commented on the incident that took place in the Middle Shabelle region.