Sunday September 10, 2023
Mogadishu (HOL) - Al-Shabab militants launched an attack on
a Somali military base in the Awdheegle district of the Lower Shabelle region
on Sunday morning.
The assault started with a vehicle loaded with explosives, followed
by a fierce battle between the military forces and the militants. Both sides
employed heavy weaponry during the confrontation.
The two sides suffered casualties but, the exact figures
remain unknown.
On the other hand, the militants carried out another
assault, targeting an army base in the Berdale district of the Bay region on
Sunday night. The Ministry of Defense confirmed that the security forces
managed to eliminate the group's leader and other militants during their
resistance against the attack.
"The armed forces, supported by local residents,
successfully thwarted an assault by the Khawarij militia in the Berdale
district of the Bay region last night," stated the Ministry of Defense on
Saturday.
In contrast, the militant group claimed to have seized
control of the base from the Somali government forces. Nevertheless, local
sources suggest that government forces still maintain control over the army
base.
Somalia’s government last year launched what the president
called “total war” on al-Shabab, which controls parts of rural central and
southern Somalia and makes millions of dollars through “taxation” of residents
and extortion of businesses.