MOGADISHU, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Seventeen al-Shabaab militants were killed during a joint operation by the Somali National Army and international forces in southern Somalia, the Horn of Africa country's Ministry of Defense confirmed on Tuesday.
"The operation targeted a site used by the al-Shabaab terrorist group to plan and coordinate terrorist activities, particularly the manufacture and deployment of explosive devices intended to harm civilians," the defense ministry said in a statement released in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.
During the operation, troops destroyed vehicles and lethal weapons used by militants to stage attacks against civilians and members of the disciplined forces, according to the ministry.
Recently, Somalia's elite troops and international partners, including the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, have intensified military offensives against al-Shabaab in southern Somalia. ■