Somali army repels attack by Al-Shabaab near port city

Al-Shabaab has claimed it killed several Jubaland state soldiers, but there was no independent verification as the phone network in the area was down during the fighting.

News Keydmedia Online
5 December 2021

KISMAYO, Somalia – Somalia’s Jubaland army repels attack by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab terror group outside Kismayo port town on Sunday with casualties on both sides.

Residents in Bar-Sanguni, a small but strategic town reported heavy gunfight erupted after militants armed with RPGs and machine guns tried to storm military base housing troops.

The battle has lasted for almost half an hour and the regional forces have managed to fend off the assault which involved grenade blasts. At least two soldiers were reportedly wounded.

Al-Shabaab has claimed it killed several Jubaland state soldiers, but there was no independent verification as the phone network in the area was down during the fighting.

The area which lies about 50 kilometers north of Kismayo has been the scene of frequent Al-Shabaab attacks for the past five years due to its strategic importance.

In June 2018, a US Special Operations soldier was killed and four others were wounded after Al-Shabaab attacked their forward operating base (FOB) in the ex-Al-Shabaab stronghold.

The militants first set off a series of explosions before opening fire on the foreign soldiers as they dig trenches and set up other defenses in the new camp aimed to launch drone strikes.

KEYDMEDIA English