MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s intelligence agency reported on Friday that its latest operation killed 19 al-Shabaab fighters in the Yaaqle area, northeast of Bal’ad town in the Middle Shabelle region. In response, al-Shabab group claimed to have killed 51 soldiers in an ambush near Kismayo town in the Lower Jubba region.
The agency also said its forces attacked an al-Shabab gathering at a secret base that had been under close surveillance, killing 19 militants and wounding several others. After the operation, a fire was observed in the area, suggesting that explosives and other weapons may have been destroyed.
This marks the second government operation in the Yaaqle area in five days. The previous operation, on Sunday, resulted in the deaths of 27 militants.
On Thursday, Al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-linked militant group, claimed responsibility for killing 51 Jubaland soldiers and wounding 70 others in an ambush on Wednesday. The attack took place between the Berhani and Janay-Abdalle areas, near the port town of Kismayo.
The group claimed that among those killed were seven military officers, though this has not been independently verified. Al-Shabab also said it had seized weapons and that the bodies of the soldiers remained at the site, with the military forces retreating back to their base in Kismayo.
Despite losing control of many towns, the al-Qaeda-linked militant group has stepped up its attacks since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared an “all-out war” to drive them from Somalia.
Driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 by Somali and African Union forces, the extremist group continues to carry out deadly attacks. For over a decade, they have been fighting to overthrow the Somali government and impose a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
Al-Shabab still controls large areas in southern and central Somalia, from which it is believed to launch attacks against Somali National Army bases, African Union peacekeepers, and the capital, Mogadishu.
