UPDATE - Al-Shabaab attack kills at least 3 soldiers in Somalia

ADDS RECENT ATTACK, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - The al-Shabaab terror group attacked a Somali National Army (SNA) base Friday on the outskirts of the capital, Mogadishu, according to officials.

The attack took place at an SNA base in Hilwayne village in the Middle Shabelle region located 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Mogadishu.

“Al-Shabaab launched a surprise attack on Hilweyne SNA Forward observation post in Hilwayne, killing three long-serving military personnel," a military official told Anadolu Agency via telephone.

The attack came after most of the 3rd Division of the SNA withdrew from the camp, he said.

Al-Shabaab attacked a base of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) late Thursday/

The attack was on the AMISOM base Bulomarer, located 123 kilometers (76 miles) south of the capital.

"The terrorists first attacked a security checkpoint in the town, but the military swiftly repulsed the attack. After they failed, the attackers then fired mortars at the AMISOM base, and it's possible that some shells landed inside the base," a military officer in the Lower Shabelle region told Anadolu Agency, without disclosing whether there were casualties.

The group, which is linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying 17 peacekeepers were killed or wounded.

"Seventeen Ugandan soldiers killed and wounded in mujahideen attack on Bulomarer base in Lower Shabelle region," al-Shabaab said on its media vehicle, Radio Andalus.

The group also said it killed five soldiers in the attack on the security checkpoint in Bulomarer.

Al-Shabaab claimed that it killed four peacekeepers Saturday in a bomb attack in the Middle Shabelle region.

In October 2017, at least 300 people were killed in a truck bomb attack in Mogadishu blamed on al-Shabaab -- the deadliest terror attack in Somalia’s history.