Two Somali national army bases were targeted by al-Shabab militants on Saturday, killing 23 people.
The army said it had control of both bases.
The bases, located about 100 kilometers southwest of the capital Mogadishu, were hit by two explosions, witnesses said. A third explosion was aimed at a troop of troops rushing to bases from the capital after the attack, they added.
Somali armed forces said they had killed 19 militants in both attacks.
“We have rejected the terrorists who wanted to wreak havoc on our army. We have lost four soldiers and many others were wounded,” Army Commander Abdullahi Rage told the German Press Agency (dpa).
The army sent reinforcements from other stations, Hussein Nur, a military officer, told Reuters.
The army now has control of both bases and the surrounding areas, he said, adding: “We are pursuing the militants in the surrounding jungle.”
Al-Shabab said it had launched a vehicle-based suicide bombing at Bariire Base while attacking the nearby Awdhigle base with a car bomb and fighting to prevent troops standing there from reinforcing Bariire.
“We surpassed the Bariire base, burned three military vehicles and took two vehicles,” Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab’s spokesman for military operations, told Reuters, citing a brief occupation of Bariire.
A third vehicle carrying explosive devices struck a convoy of government forces competing from Mogadishu with reinforcements, he said. He also said that there had been casualties on both sides of the attacks.
Al-Shabab militants linked to al-Qaeda have carried out several years of attacks and imposed tolls on trade.
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