Al-Shabab Attacks Soldiers in South Somalia, 24 Dead

Local Editor

At least 24 people were killed in southern Somalia after fighting between al-Shabab Takfiri militants and government forces, residents and the rebel group said on Saturday.

Al-Shabab launched an attack on government troops on Friday evening in the Awdigle district and Mubarak village in the Lower Shabelle region, south of the capital. Clashes lasted until Saturday morning, residents said.

Further, militants and government troops, which control the two places, also fought there last week.

The African Union's AMISOM peacekeeping force and Somali soldiers had pushed al-Shabab, which wants to topple the Western-backed government, into smaller pockets of territory, but the group still launches regular attacks from those areas.

"We did not sleep last night because they exchanged shells and gunfire throughout the night," resident Afrah Hussein told Reuters from Awdigle district, adding he had counted 17 dead but could not say if they were soldiers or militants.

Hassan Kassim, a resident in Mubarak village, said he saw seven killed from both sides.

Moreover, al-Shabab's military operations spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab, said the group's fighters had killed 25 soldiers, 18 in Awdigle and seven in Mubarak. He did not mention any al-Shabab dead.

Abdikadir Mohamed Sidi, the governor of Lower Shabelle region, stated that at least 40 rebels were killed but said the commander of government forces in Awdigle, Colonel Dahir Shekaal, also died.

However, al-Shabab and officials often gave conflicting death tolls.

Although diplomats said al-Shabab had been pushed mainly into areas in the Galgala hills in the north and Juba Valley in south, the group had continued to launch strikes on the capital Mogadishu, as well as attack Somali and AMISOM forces.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team