African Union base attacked with automotive, suicide bombers -AU
Heavy casualties on each side, Somali officer says
Provides peacekeeping mission assertion, paragraphs 5-6
MOGADISHU, Might 26 (Reuters) – Islamist al Shabaab militants attacked a army base housing Ugandan forces with the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia on Friday, and a Somali military captain mentioned each side suffered heavy casualties.
Al Shabaab has since 2006 has been combating to topple the Horn of Africa nation’s Western-basked authorities and set up its personal rule based mostly on a strict interpretation of Islamic regulation.
The militants focuseda base belonging to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) in Bulamarer, 130 km (80 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu. ATMIS is aiding Somalia’s federal authorities in its battle with al Shabaab.
“There was an assault this morning at our base… by components of al Shabaab however we’re ready for official communication from ATMIS headquarters,” mentioned Uganda Folks’s Defence Pressure (UPDF) deputy spokesman Deo Akiiki.
ATMIS later mentioned in a press release that al Shabaab had hit the bottom utilizing automotive and suicide bombers, and that airborne reinforcement from the mission and its allies destroyed the militants’ weaponry as they withdrew.
ATMIS gave no particulars on casualties.
Al Shabaab mentioned in a press release that it had carried out suicide bomb assaults and killed 137 troopers on the base.
There was no quick official affirmation of the casualties. Al Shabaab tends to provide casualty figures in assaults that differ from these issued by the authorities.
The militants had additionallyfocused an adjoining base belonging to the Somali army, a Somali captain who gave his identify as Abdullahi informed Reuters from the Decrease Shabelle area.
“That prompted a fierce battle for hours. All teams together with al Shabaab suffered heavy casualties,” he mentioned.
Residents of the city mentioned they awoke to the sound of big explosions and heavy weapons.
“Now we see al Shabaab within the city. We can’t know what number of died. We’re not listening to any photographs from ATMIS and authorities now,” native resident Rukia Farah mentioned earlier on Friday.
Al Shabaab as soon as held huge swathes of Somalia earlier than being pushed again in authorities counteroffensives since final yr. Nonetheless, the militants stay able to launching vital assaults on authorities, industrial and army targets.
(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar in Mogadishu and Elias Biryabarema in Kampala; Writing by Bhargav Acharya and George Obulutsa; Modifying by Duncan Miriri, Nick Macfie and Mark Heinrich)
((Bhargav.Acharya@thomsonreuters.com;))
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