MOGADISHU, Somalia (wararonline) – Following a weeks-long offensive against Al-Qaeda-aligned Al-Shabaab militants, Somalia's army seized a strategic town in the Middle Shabelle region on Monday, with the assistance of US and Turkish drones.
According to army officials, troops set up defensive positions on the outskirts of Adan Yabal town as precautionary measures against possible explosions, after militants planted bombs in and around the town.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the deaths of five US-trained special forces, including two officers, in a roadside bomb attack during the army's advance on Adan Yabal town.
Earlier, Somali troops backed by US and Turkish warplanes seized the Middle Shabelle towns of El-baraf and Masajid Ali Gadud.
Several explosions were heard near Adan Yabal on Monday during the army and clan militia advance on the town, but no casualties were immediately reported.
During the previous term of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Ethiopian troops bolstering Somali government forces seized the town in 2016. They retreated a month later due to insurgent attacks.
0 Comments