Helicopters staged an attack on training camps used by al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia’s southern Lower Shabelle region, a local official and the Islamists said.
The aircraft were used in the assault on al-Shabaab camps on the outskirts of Awdhegle town late Tuesday, with explosions and gunfire lasting about an hour, resident Hassan Bin Hussein said by phone. Mohamed Aweys, the mayor who’s lived in a nearby settlement since the militants seized Awdhegle, said 11 of the Islamists were killed. He didn’t say to whom the helicopters belonged.
Al-Shabaab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab said “white foreigners” had landed forces near its camps and engaged its fighters. The Islamists repelled the attack after an hour-long battle, he told Radio Andalus, a broadcaster that supports their insurgency. Awdhegle is located about 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of the capital, Mogadishu. He didn’t mention any casualties.
The attack came about three days after a U.S. airstrike on a camp north of Mogadishu that the Pentagon said killed 150 fighters, a figure al-Shabaab described as exaggerated. U.S. strikes have helped weaken al-Shabaab, alongside military gains that drove the militants out of the capital and other central and southern regions over the past four years.
The ground offensive has been led by the African Mission in Somalia, or Amisom, which includes forces from Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti, alongside the national army. Paul Njuguna, an Amisom spokesman, responded to a call seeking comment on Tuesday’s attack by asking for questions to be sent by text message. He didn’t immediately respond to texted queries.