Al Shabaab storms Somali military base, kills 27 soldiers

Somali security officers and civilians look at the wreckage of a vehicle destroyed at the scene where a speeding car exploded after it was shot at by police, outside the hotels near the presidential palace, in Mogadishu
Somali security officers and civilians look at the wreckage of a vehicle destroyed at the scene where a speeding car exploded after it was shot at by police, outside the hotels near the presidential palace, in Mogadishu

Somalia's al Shabaab group said on Monday its fighters had attacked a military base in the south of the country, killing 27 soldiers.

"We first attacked the base with a suicide car bomb and then stormed. We killed 27 soldiers and took the base. Some soldiers fled into the jungles," Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operation spokesman said.

The base is some 50 km (31 miles) away from the port city of Kismayu.

There was no immediate comment from the government official on the attack.

Al Shabaab fights to topple Somalia’s central government and impose its a rule based on its own strict interpretation of Islam’s Sharia law.

Al Shabaab attacked the same base in June, wounding seven soldiers.

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