Almost twenty Al Shabaab jihadists die during a military operation in southern Somalia

June 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –

At least 19 Al Shabaab jihadists have been killed during an operation led by the Somali Army with international support in the Lower Shabelle region, in the south of the country, the Somali Army reported this Sunday.

The offensive, framed within the “total war” declared against Al Shabaab by the country’s president, Hasan Sheikh Mohamud, has taken place specifically in the town of Bula Mohamed Abdalla and has had the participation of “international friends” from Somalia, according to the statement collected by the state television channel SNTV. The US and the African Union collaborate with Somalia in its fight against the jihadists.

This is the second operation in this region since the one that took place last week, and which follows the announcement, on Wednesday, of another 20 Al Shabaab militants killed in a planned operation in the Beledul Amin area, north of the capital, Mogadishu.

This operation is also the first on record since the assault this weekend orchestrated by Al Shabaab against the Pearl Beach hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, which left nine dead — six civilians and three soldiers –, a dozen injured and 84 people rescued. Among the deceased is a member of the World Health Organization (WHO), as confirmed by the body itself.

The seven militiamen who attacked the hotel ended up being shot dead by the security forces or by detonating the explosives they were carrying.