MOGADISHU, Somalia – At least six members of the Somali National Army [SNA] was killed Wednesday after a landmine explosion in central Somalia, officials said in an attack that comes barely a week after dozens of soldiers were deployed to the region.
Officials said the soldiers were killed after their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device [IED] near Bal’ad town in Middle Shebelle, where al-Shabaab militants have been battling SNA troops for the past week as the government moves with speed to control the region.
Three soldiers were critically injured in the incident, which is the latest attack on military officers in Somalia. The wounded officers were flown to Mogadishu for special treatment, according to Somali National Army officials. [SNA].
According to officials, the troops were on their way to Bal’ad city from Basra in pursuit of Al-Shabaab militants and we are clearing the road, which is the main supply route from the south to the central part of the country. Al-Shabaab militants have targeted aid workers and security forces in the country.
Last week, al-Shabaab militants were attacked by members of the SNA who descended from the village of Basra when they ruthlessly arrested and killed the militants. Both parties opened fire on each other, but no one is yet to confirm the number of casualties after the deadly meeting.
The Somali government is eager to completely eliminate the al-Shabaab threat in central Somalia, where the militants have been controlling for the past few months. Bal’ad city was liberated from the militants a few years ago after an attack by the SNA and a few foreign soldiers in the AMISOM and US Africa Command.
Usually, the militants are targeted at military officials, civil servants and civilians attached to the National Intelligence Security Agency [NISA] who is in the front line in the fight against Al-Shabaab. The group has killed close to 5,000 people in Somalia.
Elsewhere, al-Shabaab militants fired mortar shells at a runway in Dhusamareb, the regional administrative capital of Galmadug on Tuesday night, officials said. However, the attack did not affect aviation activities in the city, which was recently renamed Samareeb by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.
Al-Shabaab militants have washed out of the city a few years ago when the Somali National Army [SNA] and the ASWJ militia worked closely to counter their threat. For years, the militants have often tried to invade the city, but their efforts have often been in vain.
The al-Qaeda-linked group remains a threat to the stability and democratization of Somalia, a country that has struggled with stability for over three decades. The U.S. Africa Command recently said the group remains dangerous to both U.S. and African allies, adding that it will continue to work hard to eliminate the terrorist group.
AXADLETM
