Islamist insurgents attacked for hours on Sunday with African Union troops after bombed a car outside their base, Somali police, military and the militants reported. 14 of the group’s fighters and 59 AMISOM troops were killed in the fight.
Al Shabaab militants attacked the African Union (AU) peacekeepers’ base in the town Bulamarer, 130 km to the northwest of the capital Mogadishu, around 9 a.m. local time, residents from the area reported.
Since withdrawing from Mogadishu in 2011, the al-Qaeda-linked group has lost curb of most of Somalia’s cities and towns. But it still sustains a strong presence in regions outside the capital.
“The militants initially detonated two suicide car bombs that hit one AU vehicle and one Somali military vehicle, Somali army major Farah Osman, who is stationed near the AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia base”, said.
“Then a large number of al Shabaab fighters began firing from under the trees … it was a hellish battle,” he said, adding there was an unknown number of casualties.
A police major stationed in a nearby town also said two car bombs exploded outside the base before the al Shabaab fighters entered it.
Major Nur Ali told that Somali and AMISOM forces had attacked al Shabaab in rural areas near the base on Saturday night. “Then al Shabaab attacked back this morning as a revenge,” he said.
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