Somalia’s Al-Shabab storm military base in country’s south, kill 27 soldiers

People look at damaged shops after two car bombs were detonated and three Shabab gunmen were shot dead after exchanging fire with security forces outside the presidential palace in Mogadishu, on July 14, 2018. (File Photo: AFP/Mohamed Abdiwahab)

• The base is some 50 km (31 miles) away from the port city of Kismayu
• Al Shabab attacked the same base in June, wounding seven soldiers

MOGADISHU: Somalia’s Al-Shabab group said on Monday its fighters had attacked a military base in the south of the country, killing 27 soldiers.
“We first attacked the base with a suicide car bomb and then stormed. We killed 27 soldiers and took the base. Some soldiers fled into the jungles,” Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al-Shabab’s military operation spokesman said.
The base is some 50 km (31 miles) away from the port city of Kismayu. There was no immediate comment from government official on the attack.
Al Shabab fights to topple Somalia’s central government and impose its a rule based on its own strict interpretation of Islam’s Sharia law.
Al Shabab attacked the same base in June, wounding seven soldiers.