MOGADISHU, Somalia – At least one soldier was killed and two others wounded on Sunday when al Shabab militants carried out an ambush attack on an army base in south of the Somali capital Mogadishu.
The attack took place in Sabid area near Afgoye town of Lower Shabelle region, some 30km south of the capital Mogadishu, residents said.
In a phone interview, the locals said that number of militants armed with machine-guns and rocket-propelled-grenades attacked on a military base, causing heavy exchanges of gunfire.
They added that at least one soldier was killed and two others wounded during the attack.
Somali military in the region has not yet commented on the attack.
Last week, the militants carried out an attack on African Union peacekeepers’ base in Bulomarer town in Lower Shabelle region that about 123 km in south of the capital of Mogadishu.
The al Shabab group said that it had killed and wounded 17 peacekeepers in the attack.
Earlier this month, the group claimed that it had killed four peacekeepers in a bomb attack on their convoy near Mahaday town in Middle Shabelle region.
Al Shabab, an al Qaeda linked group has stepped up its attacks on African Union troops and Somali army forces’ bases as the country geared up parliamentary and presidential elections.
The insurgents have been fighting to topple Mogadishu-based government for more than ten years.
