Somali military kills at least 11 al-Shabaab terrorists

MOGADISHU, Somalia

Elite soldiers from the Somali National Army conducted a military operation Tuesday against the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab terrorist group in the southern province of Lower Juba, killing at least 11 terrorists.

The special operation was conducted near El-Ade village on the outskirts of the port city of Kismayo, which also is the administrative capital of the southern state of Jubaland.

The Somali National News Agency (SONNA) reported that the group's hideouts were also destroyed during the army operation.

“Units from Somali National Army’s commandos (DANAB) have killed 11 #Alshabab terrorists and destroyed their hideouts in special operation near El-Ade village under #Kismayo district on Tuesday," SONNA said on Twitter.

The district’s capital, Kismayo, is a major port city located 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu.

Separately, the army’s 60th Division forces conducted security operations on a highway linking the city of Baidoa and the town of Burhakaba in the Bay region that had recently seen a rise in al-Shabaab attacks against the Somali military and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia.

A military official in the Bay region told Anadolu Agency by phone that during the operations, the army destroyed al-Shabaab secret bases.

Somalia is in the midst of an election period and its long-delayed presidential election is scheduled to take place on Sunday.

The Al-Shabaab terrorist group has doubled its attacks during the Horn of Africa country's electoral process.