Al-Shabab Attacks Ethiopian Military Base In Somalia

The al Shabaab Islamist militant group of Somalia attacked early Thursday an Ethiopian military base, about 260 kilometers north of Mogadishu in central Somalia, near Halgan village.

According to African Union force in the country, the troops turned back the militants after the attack and killed more than 100 of them.

Andalus, the official radio channel of Al-Shabab, meanwhile claims they have killed 43 Ethiopian troops and destroyed the base too.

Local residents said first a suicide car exploded at the main entrance and it was followed by attacks from heavily armed militants.

Village chairman Guhad Abdi Warsame said one attack took place at the main gate and the second centered on the base that houses African Union’s AMISOM force.

He added the troops fought with the militants to retreat.

Residents claim about five civilians too have been killed in the fight between militants and government forces.

Al-Shabab has attacked and overtaken three AMISOM bases in past three years killing 176 soldiers and civilians in Kenya, Uganda and Burundi.

Since 2007 the African Union force has been deployed in Somalia to fight against al-Shabab, the group that has pledged allegiance to al-Qaida and looking ahead to overthrow the government with the aim to turn the country into a strict Islamist state.