MOGADISHU, Somalia

At least 25 al-Shabaab terrorists were killed when the Somali military carried out precision airstrikes on the terror group’s positions in the Lower Juba region, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

“The Somali National Army’s elite Danab forces, supported by international partners, carried out precision airstrikes on Al-Shabaab positions in Maqooqaha, approx. 100km (62 miles) NW of Kismayo, Lower Jubba,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

It said the operation struck a key command center used for planning terror attacks and the site “sustained heavy structural damage.”

Kismayo is a major port city in southern Somalia and is the administrative capital of Jubaland state, 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the national capital of Mogadishu.

Somalia has long been plagued by insecurity, with al-Shabaab and ISIS (Daesh) posing the most serious threats.

Al-Shabaab has been fighting the Somali government for more than 16 years, frequently targeting government officials and military personnel.