A Somali military official announced that at least 13 soldiers were killed after the army attacked the Al-Shabaab Movement (a terrorist group affiliated to Al-Qaeda) in forests and farms near Afgooye, northwest of Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia.
Major Mohamed Ali, a local commander of the Somali army, said that troops left Afgooye, about 30 kilometers from Mogadishu, and attacked the militants inside farms.
The attacking force killed four militants and chased others to the depth of the forest. Most of the army returned but left 24 soldiers there after the conclusion of the operation.
Ali noted that Al-Shabaab attacked the soldiers and killed 13.
While Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, Abdel Aziz Abu Mussab, a spokesman for the movement’s military operations, said that 24 soldiers were killed and the rest fled the scene.
The number of casualties declared by the Somali government and the movement usually fluctuates after the attacks.
The movement has escalated its attacks in recent weeks, targeting military and civilian installations in the Somali capital and other cities.
Last week, the Somali Prime Minister, Mohamed Hussein Robley announced that the political agreement on the date of the elections and the supplementary protocols concluded between the government and the states will be implemented.
This came in a recorded speech published by his office, calling on all concerned institutions to play their roles in holding the elections on time in a transparent manner.
Robley praised the concessions made by all Somali leaders and their sense of responsibility towards their homeland during the political dialogue over the past four months.
The Somali PM called on the international community to support everything related to the conduct of the elections, to implement them on the date scheduled for February 2021.
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