Somalia ‘foils’ Shabaab attack on military base

MOGADISHU: Militants from Somalia’s Al Shabaab atacked a military base in the central Galgaduud region on Friday, the group and a local government minister said, prompting violent clashes as the army and allied clans sought to repel them.

The early morning atack in the village of Qayib, which included suicide car bombs, comes as government forces have made a number of batlefield gains against Al Shabaab in the last three months, regaining territory with the help of clan militias.

The Al Qaeda-linked group, which controls swathes of Somalia, had lost the village of Qayib to the government forces a few weeks ago.

“We had information that Al Shabaab was atacking us, so last night we were all vigilant waiting for them. We hit their cars that had been loaded with bombs with rocket propelled grenades, foiling them before they entered the base,” Ismail Abdulle, one of the clan fighters who are known locally as “macawisley,” or “men with sarongs,” said from Qayib.

The information minister in Galgaduud, Ahmed Shire Falagle, said government forces had foiled the atack and was in control of Qayib.

However, Al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab, disputed that account.

He said the fighters had taken Qayib, killed soldiers and stolen military vehicles.

He also acknowledged Al Shabaab’s own forces had suffered casualties in the atack.

Both sides oten give conflicting accounts of batles.

Somalia’s local information minister said he would provide an update on casualties later.

Somali state television, citing a ministry of information statement, also reported on Friday that 15 Al Shabaab fighters had been killed in an air raid at Bulo Madino in the Lower Shabelle region.

Somalia’s government said on Wednesday that 49 Al Shabaab fighters had been killed in an operation in Lower Shabelle.

Somalia’s special forces, together with its intelligence agency and “international security partners,” destroyed a number of military vehicles and a weapons dump in Bulo-madino village in Lower Shabelle region, the ministry of information said in a statement.

Al Shabaab could not immediately be reached for comment.

Four residents of Afgoye district, around 25km north-west of the capital Mogadishu, said they heard large explosions on Tuesday evening, but were not aware of the village’s location or of the number of casualties.

The group has killed tens of thousands since 2006 in its fight to overthrow the government.