By Mohammed Dhaysane
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA)- At least 17 people, including 13 al-Shabaab fighters, were killed when Somali government forces backed by foreign troops attacked a camp of the terrorist group early Wednesday, said a security official.
Ahmed Abdulahi Isse, state security forces commander in the southern Jubaland region, told reporters that they killed 13 al-Shabaab fighters in a military operation on an al-Shabaab military and training camp in the village of Qamqam, 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the coastal town of Kismayo, itself some 500 kilometers south of the capital Mogadishu.
More than 10 fighters were also wounded during the operation, he added.
In 2012 Somali government with Kenyan forces under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) captured Kismayo from al-Shabaab, their last economic stronghold in Somalia.
Last week airstrikes in the lower Shabelle region killed four al-Shabaab terrorists, including senior leaders, according to the Somali government.
Based in Somalia, members of the terrorist group often cross the porous southern border to commit attacks in Kenya.