MOGADISHU, Somalia

Over 100 terrorists were killed and several others captured alive after a week-long military operation against the al-Shabaab group in the Lower Shabelle region, the Somali Defense Ministry said on Friday evening.

The Somali National Army (SNA), in collaboration with the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), liberated the strategic town of Bariire in the Lower Shabelle region from al-Shabaab during the operations, according to a Defense Ministry statement.

“The forces are now conducting clearance operations in the town and surrounding areas, seizing a significant cache of weapons and military supplies,” the statement said.

This comes just days after the Defense Ministry announced that at least 70 al-Shabaab terrorists had been killed by the Somali army and African Union peacekeepers in the area.

The military also admitted that two SNA soldiers were killed and 12 others injured during fighting in the same area last Monday.

Bariire is a strategic agricultural town situated 73 kilometers (45 miles) southwest of the capital, Mogadishu.

Al-Shabaab, which has waged an insurgency against the Somali government for over 16 years, regularly targets security forces, government officials, and civilians.