Al-Shabab Ambush Kills At Least 20 Somali Soldiers in Southern Somalia, Officer Says

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Islamic extremist militants killed at least 20 Somali soldiers in an ambush, a surviving military officer said, while the government acknowledged damage to military vehicles but did not disclose troop casualties.

The al-Qaida-affiliated al-Shabab group, which has opposed Somalia’s government for nearly two decades, claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack near Jameeca village in southern Somalia.

The Defense Ministry stated its forces killed approximately 75 militants and wounded 56 during hours of fighting. Al-Shabab claimed it killed 321 soldiers and captured prisoners and military equipment.

The casualty figures and claims regarding captured soldiers and equipment could not be independently verified.

Abshir Abdikarim, a military officer traveling with the convoy, told The Associated Press by phone late Tuesday that he saw at least 20 of his fellow soldiers dead after the attack. He said troops advanced from Leego into Jameeca, in Burhakaba district in the Bay region, where they exchanged heavy gunfire with militants.

Some soldiers previously reported missing reached Baledogle on Tuesday, he said, while others remained unaccounted for.

The ministry characterized the confrontation as an assault on militant positions. Al-Shabab said its fighters ambushed a convoy advancing into territory under its control.

The ministry said militants used explosives-laden vehicles to attack army vehicles, damaging some of them. It did not specify how many were damaged or address claims that soldiers had been captured.

Al-Shabab said it seized Turkish-supplied armored vehicles, armed pickup trucks, supply trucks, weapons, and ammunition.

African Union troops expelled al-Shabab from Mogadishu in 2011, but the group adapted through guerrilla warfare, suicide bombings, and targeted assassinations.

Somali authorities have reported territorial gains during a U.S.-backed military campaign, though access restrictions have made those claims difficult to verify independently. The militants have retained the ability to operate across large areas of central and southern Somalia.

The fighting occurs amid a separate struggle for control of South West state. Government troops clashed last month near Baidoa with militias loyal to former regional President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, who resigned after federal forces seized the city in March.

The Defense Ministry said government forces would continue targeting al-Shabab positions and disrupting efforts by its fighters to regroup.

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