SNA says 240 Al-Shabaab fighters Killed in Attack on Base

Somali National Army on Saturday said Somali Army alongside Ethiopian troops has killed 248 Al-Shabaab militants in central Somalia.

The Battalion Four commander, Tawane Ahmed Gurey, said Somali National Army and troops from the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF), serving under AMISOM have thwarted a dawn attack on Halgan, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu.

“We were attacked by about 400 enemies from four different fronts at dawn and the fight ended after 9:30am,” the commander said.

He said the troops managed to recover an assortment of weapons among them rocket-propelled grenades, AK 47 rifles, hand-held radios and anti-aircraft guns.

Ethiopia’s Ministry of Defence on Friday said the fighters were killed after attempting an attack on an African Union base in central Somalia where Ethiopian forces are mainly stationed serving under African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM.

According to the statement, Ethiopian and Somali forces jointly have foiled a planned Al-Shabab attack on Ethiopian forces on Thursday in Hiran region’s Halgan town, some 300km north of the capital Mogadishu.

Although AMISOM said it has foiled the attack, the Islamist militant group however alleged killing dozens of Ethiopian soldiers.

“Our fighters stormed the Halgan base of AMISOM . We killed 43 AU soldiers from Ethiopia in the fighting” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al-Shabab’s military operations spokesperson, told Reuters news agency.

Al-Shabab’s claim has not yet been independently confirmed by AMISOM or the Ethiopian government.

According to the statement by the Ethiopian defence ministry, Al-Shabab attempted to carry out the attack in four directions, by using cars equipped with bombs.

“Ethiopian and Somalia forces jointly repulsed the attack and killed 248 Al-Shabab militants including 5 top commanders” it said.