MOGADISHU, Somalia — At least five Puntland state soldiers have been killed and nine more also sustained injuries in a dawn attack on an army base in south of Bosaso town.
Sunday’s attack started with a mortar shelling into Af Urur militray base followed by an ambush attack carried out by al Shabab — an al Qaeda — linked group.
Af Urur, a key military base hosting Puntland state forces on the Golis Mountains about 60 miles southwest of Bosaso town.
In a statement, the al Qaeda — linked group said its fighters had overrun the camp and killed scores of soldiers while claiming to have seized weapons.
Reliable sources say at least five soldiers were killed and nine more were also wounded in the attack. The wounded were reportedly taken into a hospital in Bilcil area.
Meanwhile, Puntland military officials say at least 12 Al-Shabaab fighters, including senior commanders, were killed during a terrorist attack on their base.
They also denied reports that the militants had stormed into their base and killed scores of soldiers.
in June 2017, the militants stormed Af-Urur town, resulting in the death of over 50 people, mainly from Puntland state soldiers.
The group also made a comeback in mid 2019 but was pushed back by Puntland forces who are at war with Islamic State and al Shabab groups in the Bari region.
