Al Shabaab militants attack military base, recapture Somalian town from govt forces

Al Shabaab militants on Tuesday launched a surprise attack on a military base in Somalia and managed to recapturethe central town which was earlier lost to the government, local media quoting eyewitnesses said.

Al Shabaab is a religiously-motivated violent extremist organisation based in Somalia. The group is an officially recognised affiliate of Al-Qaeda which promotes sectarian violence against those who do not agree with its extreme religious interpretation.

According to the residents of Amara in the Galmudug region, the morning assault started with a suicide bomb attack, targeting government special force units—Danab and Darawish.

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“Al Shabaab militants have launched an attack on a government base in the town of Amara this morning. The government forces, especially the Danab and the Darawish of Galmudug, withdrew from the area and al Shabaab took control of the area,” Farah Osman, a resident of Amara, told Reuters.

The Somali Army and Darawish forces responded with airstrikes and succeeded in killing “several” combatants of al Shabaab forces, according to the state media which did not provide details on the casualties or the status of the military base or town.

Amara is a strategic town which lies on the route to the coastal town of Harardheere, another al Shabaab stronghold. Harardheere was once a pirate base at the peak of hijackings of merchant ships in 2011

Al‑Shabaab’s primary objective is the establishment of an Islamist state in the Horn of Africa based on Sharia law and the elimination of secular and foreign influence, including through violent means.

(With inputs from agencies)