Somali army, local militias kill at least 100 al-Shabaab fighters: Minister

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Somali said Thursday that its forces backed by local militias had killed at least 100 al-Shabaab fighters in central Galmudug state.

Information Minister Daud Aweis told reporters that the fighting took place around Wisil and Shabelow districts, where the troops inflicted heavy casualties and “the terrorist bodies are scattered across the fields.”

Aweis said the national army and international security partners have been conducting an operation in a forest outside the town of Mahaday in the Middle Shabelle region, where a group of terrorists and commanders are under siege by the army.

The announcement came one day after Somalia said it had killed 1,650 al-Shabaab terrorists and wounded more than 550 in two months in separate military operations in south-central regions.

Somalia has been plagued by insecurity for years, with the main threats emanating from al-Shabaab and the ISIS groups.

Since 2007, al-Shabaab has been fighting the Somali government and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), a multidimensional mission authorized by the African Union and mandated by the United Nations Security Council.

The group has increased its attacks since Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was elected for a second term last year, declared an “all-out war” on al-Shabaab.