Al-Shabaab Storms Somali Military Base In Deadly Attack

Nairobi, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Jan, 2023 ) :Al-Shabaab stormed a military base north of the Somali capital on Tuesday in a deadly attack launched after the government claimed a "historic victory" over the jihadists with the capture of a strategic coastal town.

There were conflicting reports about the death toll from the assault on the military camp in the town of Hawadley.

Speaking on national radio, army chief Odowaa Yusuf Rage said five soldiers including a senior officer had died in the attack claimed by the Islamist militants.

A clan militia commander near Hawadley said 11 soldiers died.

The militants detonated a car packed with explosives outside the camp 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Mogadishu before gunmen stormed the compound, witnesses and security officials said.

Al-Shabaab, an ally of Al-Qaeda in Somalia that controls swathes of countryside, claimed responsibility for the attack via its communication channels.

The base had only been recaptured from Al-Shabaab by the Somali National Army (SNA) in October last year by government forces and allied clan militias in a fresh push against the militants.

The government on Monday announced a "historic victory" over Al-Shabaab after the army took control of the strategic city of Haradhere in central Galmudug state without having to fight.

In recent months, the army and local clan militias have retaken chunks of territory in Galmudug and Hirshabelle states in an operation backed by US air strikes and an African Union force.

But despite the gains, Al-Shabaab has demonstrated the ability to strike back with lethal force against civilian and military targets.

Police said eight people were killed in a roadside bombing claimed by Al-Shabaab in central Somalia on Saturday. Earlier this month, 19 people were killed in twin car bombings in Mahas, a town in Hiran district in Hirshabelle.