African Union peacekeepers and Somali government forces killed nine members of the al-Shabaab militant group during two separate incidents Thursday.
In the first incident, the troops attacked an illegal checkpoint near Sabiid in the town of Afgoye, 25 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu, killing five insurgents, the African Union mission known as Amisom said in a statement on Twitter. In the second operation, four al-Shabaab members were killed during a raid on an illegal police station and taxation center near Beled Amiin, it said.
“Amisom working with the federal government of Somalia will continue to degrade al-Shabaab and allow the people of Somalia to enjoy peace and security,” the mission said.
Al-Shabaab has waged an insurgency in Somalia since 2006 in a bid to impose a strict version of Islamic law. The group still carries out frequent gun and grenade attacks even after losing control of large chunks of territory to government troops backed by African Union forces.
bloomberg.com
