Somalia: 49 Al-Shabaab militants were killed in a military operation
The Somali government said on Wednesday that 49 Al Shabaab militants had been killed in a military operation in the Lower Shabelle region, the latest development in a months-long campaign aimed at seizing territory long controlled by the militant group.
Al-Shabaab, affiliated with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for two car bombings that killed at least 120 people in the capital, Mogadishu, in October.
Officials say militia restrictions on international aid have exacerbated the impact of the worst drought in four decades, pushing the country to the brink of famine.
Government forces, backed by clan militias and, at times, African Union forces, have made a number of field gains against Al-Shabaab in the past three months.
The Ministry of Information said in a statement that the Somali special forces, in cooperation with the intelligence agency and "international security partners", destroyed a number of military vehicles and a weapons store in a village in the Lower Shabelle region on Tuesday night.
Somali Prime Minister Hamzah Abdi Barre said in a statement today, Wednesday, that government forces have killed more than 600 Al-Shabaab fighters, wounded 1,200 others and recaptured 68 residential areas in the past three months as part of the Somali "military, economic and ideological" war on the rebels.
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