Somali forces kill 3 al-Shabab militants in southwestern region-Xinhua

Somali forces kill 3 al-Shabab militants in southwestern region

Source: Xinhua| 2022-07-31 00:19:15|Editor: huaxia

MOGADISHU, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The Somali National Army (SNA) and forces from the southwestern region on Saturday killed three al-Shabab terrorists in a joint offensive in the region, a local official said.

A military official who led the security operation near Tosweyne village in Bardale district told the Somali News Agency that several militants who have been terrorizing the locals escaped with serious injuries.

"The terrorists have harassed and displaced several people in the villages. This operation was meant to flush them out of Bardale district," Aidarus Abdullahi Sheikh, a commander who led the operation, told the news agency.

The latest operation came a day after two people including a state minister were killed and several others wounded in a blast in Baidoa, in southwestern Somalia. South-West State Minister of Justice Hassan Ibrahim Hassan (Lugbur) and his son were killed by an explosive device near his home after leaving the mosque in Baidoa Friday.

Al-Shabab still controls some parts of rural southern and central Somalia and continues to carry out high-profile attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere. Allied forces have intensified military operations in territory formerly controlled by the extremist group. Al-Shabab was driven out of Mogadishu in 2011.

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