Somali forces kill over 80 Alshabaab militants in operations

[Deeq A.]

Somali security Forces have killed more than 80 members of Al Shabaab militants and destroyed cache of weapons in an offensive in Jilib town which is about 98km (61 miles) north of Somalia’s port town Kismayu.

The militants were targeted in a special operation by the forces, Somali information ministry said on Saturday. Number of vehicles fitted with machine guns was also destroyed in Somalia’s middle Jubba region.

“Somali security forces have conducted an operation in Jilib district and destroyed an Alshabaab camp where terrorists were regrouping to launch attacks on Gedo region area. 81 militants killed number of vehicles and heavy weapons were destroyed,” Somali information minister, Abdirahman Yariisow has said in a twitter post.

The spokesman of Alshabaab, Abdulaziz Abu Musab has denied the reported attack, saying there was no attacks been taken on Al-shabaab camps in Jilib town.

“The statement which claims that there was an attack on Jilib town is baseless, we have not heard even any attacks in whole the region,” said Musab in an statement posted on pro-Alshabaab website.

The operation came barely two days after several Alshabaab militants killed in U.S. airstrike in Bay region, about 100 miles west of Somali capital Mogadiishu.

In October, a truck bomb at a busy intersection in Mogadishu killed over 358 people; the Shabab were blamed for the deadly attack.