An Estimate Of 30 Killed In Al Shabaab Attack In Somalia Yesterday

The attackers used car bombs in the assault on a military base in Galmudug’s Wisil town, located in central Somalia, triggering a fight with government troops and armed locals, Major Mohamed Awale, a military officer in Galmudug. The residents were well-armed and reinforced that they chased the al Shabaab. Thirty people, including 17 soldiers and 13 civilians, died in the fighting.

The Al-Qaeda-allied al Shabaab has been fighting in Somalia for more than a decade to try to topple the country’s central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. Fighters from the group frequently carry out gun and bomb assaults on a range of both civilian and military targets including busy traffic intersections, hotels, and military bases. During the attack that lasted about an hour, Abdullahi Mohamed, a resident in Wisil said he and others had “crept and slept on the ground,” and added he had personally seen about 30 people injured in the assault.

The Somalia government condemned the attack saying 41 al Shabaab fighters had been killed in the fighting as both the military and armed residents pursued the assailants. Those injured in the attack had been airlifted to the capital Mogadishu for treatment.

Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack via a statement on its Radio Al Andalus and said its fighters had killed over 30 soldiers and injured over 40 others.