Thursday October 5, 2023
Dhusamareb (HOL) - At least 30 military and pro-government militia
forces were killed on Wednesday in a deadly al-Shabab attack in the Mudug
region.
The attack, which was followed by intense fighting, occurred in an area between the Wisil and Shabelow districts. The militants ambushed military officials who had gone to a hill to get a better phone signal.
An official, who asked not to be identified, told VOA Somali that 30 soldiers from the government and local forces, including officials, were killed. Preliminary reports also suggest that Military Colonel Alinasir Abdi Farah and the local government secretary of the Galkayo district in Galmudug, Abdiqani Mohamud Ahmed, known as Afyare, were among those killed in the attack.
Al-Shabaab militants claimed killing 58 people in the fighting and wounded over 70, but these casualty figures have not been independently verified.
The attack comes hours after the Ministry of Information announced that 1,650 al-Shabab militants were killed and injured more than 550 others during military offensives in Galmudug and Hirshabelle states in central Somalia in the last two months.
The Ministry said the troops, in partnership with local forces and international partners, destroyed the militants' strongholds, forcing many to surrender to the authorities.
The government troops have intensified offensives against the terrorists since last year, when President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared an "all-out war" on the terrorist group.