Militants kill 15 in attack

Al Shabaab fighters killed at least 15 soldiers in an attack on a military base near Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, the militant group and Somali officials said yesterday.

The militants used guns and car bombs to take control of the base and a nearby town, Barire, 50km southwest of Mogadishu, in an early morning attack.

The fighters also took 11 pickup trucks mounted with machine guns, an al Shabaab spokesman said.

‘‘The other soldiers ran helterskelter into the woods. We now control the base and the village,’’ he said.

Al Shabaab aims to topple the Government in Mogadishu and impose its own strict interpretation of Islam.