After heavy fighting erupted in parts of Mogadishu early Monday morning, Somalia’s Islamic extremist group Al Shabaab claimed it had killed eight soldiers from African Union peacekeepers.
Sheikh Abdul Azeez Abu Mus’ab, Al Shabaab’s spokesman for military operations, said their fighters launched attacks on a base of the African Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) at Makka Al Mukarrama Street, claiming they inflicted severe loses on African Union peacekeepers, whom he referred to as invading African Christians.
Abu Mus’ab said they killed eight AMISOM soldiers. He didn’t specify if there were casualties on Al Shabaab's side.
Witnesses said most of the fighting rocked Hodan and Howlwadag districts in southern Mogadishu, where Somali government troops and AMISOM forces have military bases.
Mohammed Hassan, a resident of Hodan, told All Headline News by telephone that he had seen two dead civilians on the street outside his home.
Hassan added that they were awakened by artillery explosions exchanged by the warring sides.
“I don’t know if I will go to my work or not,” he lamented.
Residents in Mogadishu’s Hodan district said the battle started with heavy gun fire and artillery barrages, noting that most of the bombardments struck areas far away from the war zones.
Dhame Abdulkadir, a government military officer, told Shabelle, a local radio station, that Al Shabaab fighters had attacked their positions more than five times in the previous 24 hours, adding that government forces repulsed the attackers.
Abdulkadir went on to say government forces killed five Al Shabaab fighters in the last battle and took their rifles. On Sunday, clashes claimed the lives of at least 10 people and wounded 25 others, according to medical officials.
No statement was immediately available from AMISOM on Al Shabaab's claims.
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