Monday, October 03, 2011
The Somali troops died on Monday after the armed men carried out a surprise attack on a military base of the transitional government troops in Mogadishu's northern district of Karan.
An intense battle broke out in the aftermath of the attack with the two sides exchanging heavy gunfire and barrages of mortar shells.
Fifteen Somali soldiers sustained injuries as a result.
The gunmen later fled the scene, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
“Six soldiers were killed and several others wounded after masked gunmen attacked a government military base on Monday,” a military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Press TV.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
The Somali government has struggled for years to restore security but efforts have not yet yielded results in the nation.