Mogadishu/Xinhua/UNI: Somali National Army (SNA) killed six al-Shabab militants in an operation in the Lower Shabelle of southern Somalia on Wednesday, the military said.
Isma'il Abdi Malik, commander of the 16th Unit of SNA told journalists that government forces conducted an offensive in Janale town in Lower Shabelle region.
"It was a planned operation and we killed six of the militants including two senior leaders," Malik said.
"One was their commander in El Sanini neighborhood, while the other one was in charge in Janale town," he added.
Locals said that the government army initiated the attack on the town.
"The army confronted al-Shabab fighters staying the area, there was an exchange of fire, but now the army is in charge of the area," Asad Jelle, a local resident said.
The latest incident comes barely three days after al-Shabab militants killed three government soldiers including a senior officer and injured two others in an ambush in Mahaday town in the country's southern region of Middle Shabelle.
The government forces have intensified operations against al-Shabab militants in southern regions, but the militants still hold swathes of rural areas in those regions, conducting ambushes and planting land mines.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
