Tuesday October 10, 2023
Elite forces of the Somali National Army, backed by international partners, killed 20 al-Shabab militants in an overnight operation in the southern Mudug region, in central Somalia, officials said Monday.
The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism said the operation targeted al-Shabab militants at their hideout in Shabellow forest.
"The joint forces' aim was to destroy battle wagons used by the terrorists, military consignment, food, medicine and disable their network, which were completely destroyed," the ministry said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
The ministry said the troops killed more than 100 al-Shabab militants last week in one of the deadliest fighting of a year-long operation to flush out the militants who have engaged government forces in near-daily attacks.
Al-Shabab did not comment on the latest onslaught by government forces.
The campaign to regain control of the country comes after Mogadishu requested the United Nations Security Council to delay the ongoing troop drawdown from Somalia.
Under the current schedule, some 3,000 troops of the African Transition Mission in Somalia were to leave the country at the end of September, in a continuing withdrawal meant to last until December 2024.