Armed assailants from the Al-Shabaab movement launched an attack on the town of Balad, located in the Shabelle region of the Hirshabelle state in southern-central Somalia on Saturday.
According to the Somali news website "Soomaaliya Nabad," reports indicate that the attackers engaged in fierce clashes with government forces, detonating a car bomb early in the morning outside a compound belonging to the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency in the city, located 30 kilometers north of Mogadishu.
Eyewitnesses reported that the attack resulted in the deaths of four government soldiers, while a local official confirmed that 11 militants were killed during the execution of the movement's assault.
Al-Shabaab claimed to have briefly seized control of the city and killed several government soldiers during the operation, without specifying an exact number.
For years, the Al-Shabaab movement, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, has carried out attacks in Somalia, primarily targeting government, police, and military installations, as well as prominent businessmen and foreigners in hotels and restaurants, in an attempt to seize power and establish a strict Islamic regime.
It is worth noting that Al-Shabaab, a Somali armed faction known by various names including the Somali Youth Movement, Al-Shabab, and the Islamic Youth Movement, broke away from the Union of Islamic Courts, declaring its intention to establish an Islamic state.
In 2012, it pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda and waged war against the Somali government and its allies.
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