Somali government forces and local fighters are in control of El-Dheer town in Galmudug state following a dawn attack from al-Shabaab militants.
The militants detonated explosives on at least two camps, followed by an infantry attack at around 4am local time. The fighting lasted for hours.
Two military officers are among the government soldiers killed in El-Dheer attack, per multiple sources. Online sources identified the two as Colonel Yonis Hassan Sabriye and Colonel Abdulle. Sabriye’s father, a legal advisor to the late mayor of Migadisgu, was killed in the suicide bombing at Mogadishu HQs late July 2019 which claimed the life of Mayor Engineer Abdurahman Omar Osman.
The al-Shabaab militant group on their side issued a press statement claiming that they have killed 59 soldiers and fighters. Al-Shabaab via telegram also published purported pictures of their fighters in at least one camp which the group claims its fighters “overrun.” Pictures are to be authenticated.
According to official government statement, 47 al-Shabaab militants, and 5 government soldiers were killed in Saturday’s militant attack on El-Dheer town.
The statement said government forces were aware of the imminent attack from the militants. It says 9 militants were killed in the first phase of the attack outside El-Dheer. This was followed by an ambush near Ali Yabaal village were 18 militants were killed, per statement. An airstrike targeted the remaining al-Shabaab fighters in Ali Yabaal village killing at least 20 fighters, the statement added.
Town remains in the hands of Somali government forces after heavy fighting and communication in the town has been restored reportedly.
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