Somali army kills 11 al-Shabab militants in Bakool region

[Deeq A.]

Somali National Army (SNA) killed eleven al-Shabab militants on Sunday in an operation in Southern Somalia’s Bakool region, a military official confirmed.

Abdihamid Dirir, Somali commander of land forces, told journalists that the government forces launched an attack on the militants in Abal village, 18 km East of Huddur town, killing at least 11 alshabab militants and inflicting heavy toll.

“The operation was carried out successfully. There was a fierce fight between the militants and the army. But the forces overpowered them, killing 11 and inflicting casualties on the militants,”

The commander added that army forces have seized the area and operations will continue to ensure Alshabab militants are eliminated in the region.

On the other side, The Al-Qaida-linked group al-shabab has claimed victory in a statement published on its affiliated media online sites.

The group said it has killed at least 15 government soldiers during the fight and inflicted heavy casualties to their opponents though no independent sources were available to verify these claims.

The latest operation came barely a day after Somali army forces clashed with Alshabab militants in the country’s southern region of Bakool.

Somali forces have intensified their operations against the militants in southern regions where al-Shabab holds large swathes of rural areas, conducting ambushes against government forces.