African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces have foiled al-Shabaab attack on their base in central Somalia.
According to Somali military sources, heavily armed al-Shabaab fighters on Friday evening attacked AMISOM base from different directions, prompting a quarter of an hour fight.
The base located in the airport of Dhusameeb town of Galgaduud region.
The forces managed to push back al-Shabaab fighters and inflicted heavy casualties on the group’s fighters.
The AU forces had Intelligence report of the raid prior to the attack on the base.
The attack by Group’s fighters was successfully dispelled,” said a military official who spoke to the state-owned media.
AMISOM has not yet commented on the attack and the casualties on the soldiers.
African Union forces have been fighting al-Shabaab for more than a decade.
The batch of the AU forces deployed in country in 2007 to support the then transitional federal government of Somalia.
Forces initially contributed by Uganda and Burundi succeeded to dislodge al-Shabaab fighters from Mogadishu in 2011.
continental Intergovernmental organization increased the number of troops in the horn of Africa nation following year. Thousands of troops from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya were stationed in different parts of the country to intensify the operations against al-Shabaab.
The revival of Somali military and support of AMISOM troops have weakened and pushed them remote areas.
Al-Shabaab then opted to carry out hit and run attacks targeting Somali military and AU forces in central and southern Somalia.
The group also carries out IED attacks on major towns including capital city, Mogadishu.
