2 soldiers killed in al-Shabaab attack on Somali military base

Assault on base comes hours after lone al-Shabaab attacker kills 3 Kenyan peacekeepers in Lower Juba

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – At least two Somali soldiers were killed and several wounded in an al-Shabaab terrorist attack on a military base in southwestern Somalia, an official said on Tuesday.

Terrorists stormed a military base in Doynuunay, a town on the outskirts of Baidoa, the administrative capital of Somalia’s South West State, early in the morning.

“The soldiers managed to repulse the attack and prevent the terrorist from overrunning the base,” Jafar Mahamud, a security official in the area, told Anadolu Agency over the phone.

He confirmed that at least two Somali soldiers were killed and several injured in the assault. The number of wounded has yet to be confirmed.

Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it killed two senior Somali army officials and managed to seize military weapons.

The attack came hours after a lone al-Shabaab terrorist shot dead three Kenyan soldiers in Somalia’s Lower Juba region.

The terrorist broke into a base near the border with Kenya and opened indiscriminate fire, according to Somali and Kenyan officials.

He shot dead three Kenyan soldiers part of a peacekeeping force of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) and injured five more people before he was killed, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Somalia has been plagued by insecurity for years, with al-Shabaab being one of the main threats in the Horn of Africa country.

Since at least 2007, al-Shabaab has waged a deadly campaign against the Somali government and international forces that has claimed thousands of lives.

The UN has also warned of growing instability in the country, with its periodic reports on Somalia this year detailing attacks by al-Shabaab and pro-Daesh/ISIS groups.

There were at least 1,518 civilian casualties – 651 killed and 867 injured – in terrorist attacks in Somalia in 2018, followed by 1,459 – 591 killed and 868 injured – in 2019, according to UN in Somalia.

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