Car bombs, gunfire hit government military base in southern Somalia
A government military base in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia was struck by car bombs and gunfire on Wednesday, residents and a military officer said, and the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack. The military officer said the bombs exploded outside the base, in mid-morning attack in Awdheegle, an agricultural district along the Shabelle River, 70 km southwest of the capital Mogadishu.
"The military base is surrounded with heavy sandbags. The two car bombs were fired at and so exploded outside the base," Captain Hussein Ali, a military officer in another town in the same region, told Reuters.
"There are casualties from al Shabaab and government forces but we have no exact figure. Al Shabaab cut off some of the private telecommunications."
Last week, Somali government forces had captured most parts of Awdheegle district.
