At least 12 people were killed in an attack by al-Shabab terrorists on Sunday in a town and military base in central Somalia, according to military and local officials.
The terrorists attacked the base and the nearby town of Wisil in the state of Galmudug, more than 700 kilometers from the capital Mogadishu, several sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Abdirahman Adan, commander of a paramilitary unit in the state of Galmudug, said by telephone that it was difficult to know the exact number of dead. But at the time, they knew that 12 people, six of them from the security forces, had died in Wisil.
The attackers had been shot back and many of them had been killed, he added without saying how many.
Abdullahi Sahal, a leader in Wisil, also said six civilians and six soldiers had been killed.
The attack began with the detonation of a vehicle loaded with explosives, said another paramilitary commander, Mohamed Mire.
“After the car bomb explosion, the heavy machine guns started,” he said. But security pushed them back and caused losses, and they now had full control, he added.
Ahmed Ayanle, a local resident, said: “There was a huge explosion that hit the city before a heavy gunfire started early in the morning.”
“The fighting lasted for more than an hour before al-Shabab fighters withdrew,” he added.
Another local, Bashir Ahmed, said he had seen three dead soldiers and ten others wounded.
The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab confirmed the attack and claimed that 34 soldiers at the military base had been killed.
Also on Sunday, further north in the state of Puntland, the authorities announced that they had executed 21 al-Shabab members – the largest execution ever in Somalia.
Colonel Moomin Abdi Shire, commander of the Mudug region of Puntland, said they had been convicted by a local military tribunal.
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