MOGADISHU, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least two Somali National Army (SNA) soldiers were killed and three others wounded in a attack on Friday by al-Shabab militants on a military base in Hiran region, central Somalia.
A SNA commander told the state-owned national television that the militants wanted to attack the military base in Kalebeyr with a truck loaded with explosives but were repulsed.
"Two soldiers who had stopped the vehicle at the checkpoint were killed and three others were wounded," the military official told the broadcaster.
The military official did not however state the number of casualties on the al-Shabab side.
The al-Shabab group still controls some parts of rural southern and central Somalia and continues to carry out high-profile attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere.
However, the government and allied forces have intensified military operations into territory formerly controlled by the al-Shabab after driving the insurgents out of Mogadishu in 2011. ■
