World, Africa

Somalia: Airstrike kills 21 al-Shabaab militants

In a fresh military thrust, Somali forces recently liberated strategic town of Awdhegle from al-Shabaab

Mohammed Dhaysane  | 16.08.2019 - Update : 16.08.2019
Somalia: Airstrike kills 21 al-Shabaab militants

MOGADISHU, Somalia 

At least 21 al-Shabaab militants are reported killed in Somalia’s southern province of Lower Shabelle late Thursday, as part of a renewed military campaign, the military sources said.

Quoting military officials, the Somali National Army (SNA) radio network, reported that Somalian forces backed by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) launched two airstrikes, on the al-Qaeda affiliate, al-Shabaab bases, in the towns of Mubarak and Janale in the region.

“The first airstrike targeted the al-Shabaab base in the town of Mubarak, Lower Shabelle region, killing at least 21 militants, including foreign fighters” the radio network claimed. The airstrike also wounded 37 fighters.

The second airstrike hit another militant camp in the town of Janale, in the same region, according to the radio.

Janale, is an agricultural town, located some 80 kilometers (49 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu.

In a fresh military thrust, backed by both ground and air capability, Somali forces recently liberated the strategic agricultural town of Awdhegle from al-Shabaab.

On Wednesday, at least nine people were killed and 13 others wounded after a suicide bomber, exploded a car targeting a military base in Awdhegle. The terror group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility.

Somalia, located in the Horn of Africa and bordered by Ethiopia to the west, and the Gulf of Aden to the north, has witnessed multiple terror attacks, over past two decades.

In October 2017, hundreds of people were killed in two car bombing attacks in Mogadishu, the deadliest attack in the country's history so far.

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