20 Al-Shabaab militants killed in Somalia fighting

At least 20 militants were killed on Tuesday in fighting between the Somali National Army and the Al-Shabaab group at a military base in Bay region.

Army official Khalif Shire said 20 Al-Shabaab militants were killed when they attempted to attack their base near Baidoa town, Xinhua reported.

He did not mention if there were casualties among the army personnel.

However, Al-Shabaab militants claimed to have taken over the army base.

The group said it captured the SNA base and killed 10 soldiers. Baidoa town is the administrative capital of Southwest State in Somalia.

The latest incident comes after security forces killed at least six Al-Shabaab militants and captured three others in Bur-hakabo town this week.

The militants have recently increased their attacks against AU and Somali forces in the Lower Shabelle region, which has seen a surge of assaults that resulted in the loss of several strategic towns although the militants mainly held those towns briefly.

--IANS

py/dg