Hiiraan Online
Friday September 22, 2017
Mogadishu (HOL) - Three Somali soldiers were killed on Friday after fierce fighting erupted between Somali troops and A- Shabaab fighters in the El-Adde village of Somalia's Hiraan region, according to officials and residents.
Heavily armed Al Shabaab militants attacked a military base manned by Somali soldiers, prompting heavy fighting between the sides.
A military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the attack saying the militants attempted to overrun the base but SNA troops fended off the attack
“The terrorists raided our base in El-Adde village, fighting flared up leading casualties on both sides. Our soldiers resisted the militants,” said the officer who is in the area.
A resident in the area said three fighters killed and several others wounded in the fighting.
“At about noon (Friday), hundreds of Al Shabaab fighters attacked a Somali military base, both sides engaged hours of fighting. We saw the bodies of three uniformed fighters,” said Ali Osman in the village.
The militants claimed the responsibility for the attack saying their fighters killed several soldiers and took a large amount of ammunition from SNA.
"Our fighters conducted an attack on a base of (Somali) government soldiers in Hiraan, after heavy fighting our mujahidin managed to kill several soldiers and took a cache of ammunition,” reads a statement published on a pro-Al Shabaab website.
The militants still control large swathes of land in remote areas.
Hiiraan administration have not yet commented on the attack.