52 al-Shabab fighters killed in Somalia air attack: US military

The strike was in response to a raid near Kismayo earlier on Saturday, which left eight Somali soldiers dead.

The United States‘ military has said that an air attack in southern Somalia killed at least 52 al-Shabab fighters, in response to an attack earlier in the day that left at least eight Somali soldiers dead.

A US Africa Command statement on Saturday said the attack occurred near Jilib in Middle Juba region.

Jubaland regional security minister Abdirashid Hassan Abdinur told state-run Radio Mogadishu that the fatalities from the al-Shabab side could be as high as 73.

There was no immediate comment from al-Shabab on the death toll.

Daughters of al-Shabab

Earlier on Saturday, at least eight Somali soldiers were killed when al-Shabab fighters overran a military camp on the outskirts of the town of Kismayo.

According to reports, the heavily-armed fighters launched a dawn raid on the military camp, followed by a heavy exchange of gunfire which lasted hours.

Al-Shabab claimed it killed 15 Somali soldiers.

The incident came a day after al-Shabab said it had attacked Ethiopian troops in Somalia in an ambush on the road between the capital, Mogadishu, and the southwest town of Baidoa.

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Since 2017, the US military has stepped up air raids against the armed group.

Al-Shabab controls large parts of rural southern and central Somalia and continues to carry out high-profile attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere.

Al-Shabab forces have been fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu.

On Tuesday, it also carried out a deadly attack in neighbouring Kenya, which it has regularly targeted since Nairobi sent troops into Somalia.

Four gunmen and a suicide bomber left 21 dead and injured 28 in Nairobi.

Source: News Agencies

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