MOGADISHU, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Somali National Army (SNA) said its forces backed by both local and international forces killed 42 al-Shabab militants in an operation carried out in Mahaday district, southern Somalia, early Tuesday.
The Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, that the forces killed 27 of the militants overnight and 15 others Tuesday morning in the same location.
The ministry said the military forces recovered weapons during the 30-hour operation which targeted al-Shabab commanders from their hideouts.
"The Somali government is committed to eliminating terrorists in the country," the ministry said.
The operation comes two days after heavy fighting between SNA, backed by pro-government militia Ma'awisley, and al-Shabab militants in the Hiran region under the same Hirshabelle State in Somalia.
The Somali government forces have also been conducting offensive operations against al-Shabab militants in central and southern Somalia, flushing them out of several former strongholds which it had held over decades. ■
