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Al-Shabab terrorist group fighters (archive photo)
Photo: FEISAL OMAR / REUTERS
At least 18 people were killed in an attack by the terrorist group Al-Shabaab on a military base in the East African crisis state of Somalia.
Heavily armed fighters attacked and briefly captured a military base in the central Galmudug region at dawn, military spokesman Masud Warsame told the dpa news agency.
An Al-Shabaab suicide bomber allegedly blew up a vehicle in front of the entrance to the military base, after which the fighters broke into the base.
An eyewitness in Amara reported violent explosions and firefights.
Hundreds of residents in the district are said to have fled the fighting, schools and shops are closed.
Al-Shabaab has been fighting for supremacy in the country in the Horn of Africa for years, controls large parts of the south and the center and repeatedly carries out attacks on security forces and civilians.
asa / dpa
