Baku-APA. At least ten Al-Shabaab militants were killed and scores of others injured early Wednesday in heavy fighting between African Union (AU) forces and the Al- Qaida affiliated militant group in southern Somalia's Barawe town, a local official said, APA reports quoting Xinhua.
Lower Shebelle's governor Abdulkadir Mohamed Nor Sidii confirmed the killing, saying the Somali National Army (SNA) and the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) clashed with Al- Shabaab.
"The fighting ran into the night and early hours of Wednesday. The combined force of AMISOM and SNA killed ten militants, but we also lost a regional officer who was killed at his home," said Sidii.
"The fighting happened in the outskirts of the city (Barawe) at night, and we could hear a lot of shelling and gunfire," Omar Nor, a businessman in the area told Xinhua via phone.
Barawe, which was considered the last stronghold of Al-Shabaab, fell into government control late last year after a joint AMISOM/ SNA assault dubbed the Indian Ocean Operation.
The fighting comes barely few hours after another deadly clash between government troops and a moderate Islamist group, AhluSunah WalJamaah, which resulted in the death of over 20 people in Guricel town, 400 km north of Mogadishu.
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