Heavy fighting has erupted in the Somali border town of Balad Hawo near Kenya after al-Shabaab detonated a car bomb then stormed the military base there, the spokesman of the al Qaeda-linked group told Reuters.
Al-Shabaab, which wants to impose its strict interpretation of Islam in Somalia, has carried out frequent past attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere in its bid to topple the Western-backed government and drive out African Union peacekeeping troops.
“First, a mujahid with a car bomb rammed into the military base and then we stormed it,” spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab said on Monday.
The group also said 24 Somali soldiers were killed in the raid but a Somali military official put the figure about 10.
“We were awoken by a suicide car bomb this morning and then fierce battle followed,” Major Mohamed Abdullahi told Reuters.
“We lost at least 10 soldiers. We chased al-Shabaab out of the town. We killed seven militants.”
The death toll on both sides could still rise.
Agencies