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Al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia
Photo: Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP
At least seven Somali soldiers and almost 100 fighters from the Islamist terrorist militia Al-Shabaab were killed in an attack on a military base in the central Somali region of Galguduud, according to the government.
The attack was preceded by two serious suicide bombings, the government said on Friday.
The area is now back under military control.
For its part, the Islamist group Al-Shabaab had announced through its propaganda media that it had killed dozens of government soldiers.
The number of victims could not initially be independently confirmed.
In the past, both sides have whitewashed the information about actual losses.
According to the government, the target of the attack was a US-trained Somali commando force known as the Danab.
Government takes offensive against al-Shabaab fighters
Al-Shabaab fighters had already attacked a military base in Somalia on Tuesday morning, killing at least 35 people, including 20 Somali soldiers.
This attack was also preceded by three suicide bombings, a military spokesman told the German Press Agency.
The country on the Horn of Africa with around 16 million inhabitants has been rocked by terrorist attacks and other acts of violence for years.
The government in Mogadishu has been conducting a military offensive against Al-Shabaab for several months.
The terrorists control large parts of the central Somalia region and the south of the country, but have increasingly lost areas in recent months.
Only on Monday did the Somali government announce the recapture of two strategically important terrorist strongholds: On the one hand, soldiers liberated the city of Gal'ad in the center of the country, on the other hand, the strategically important port city of Harardhere.
Turkey and the USA are supporting Somalia in the fight against the Islamists with drones.
dop/dpa
