Editor TLN
2 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Somali Army has killed 14 militants from the jihadist group Al Shabaab, which maintains ties to Al Qaeda, and has captured four after several battles south of the city of Baidoa, the administrative capital of the country’s southwest.
These combats have taken place only a few days after the Somali government carried out the second phase of “Total War” against Al Shabaab in the south and southwest of the country, as reported by the Somali agency SONNA on Saturday.
The commander of the 60th division of the Somali Army Ali Mohamed Habbad has told SONNA that the jihadist militia tried to ambush them at midnight, although they were “severely” defeated, and has assured that they are still persecuting the rest.
Somalia has increased offensives against Al Shabaab in recent months with the support of clans and local militias as part of a series of decisions taken by the president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who promised upon taking office to put the fight against terrorism at the center of his efforts to stabilize the African country.
A week ago, the Somali government reported that the Army had killed 3,000 Al Shabaab militiamen in the last six months.
