Three killed as Al-Shabaab militants attack African Union camp in Somalia

A troop camp belonging to African Union mission came under attack in the Shabelle region in Somalia and according to a resident, three individuals lost their lives in the crossfire.

The attack targeting a camp with Burundian troops near Ceel Baraf village about 160 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu was carried out by heavily armed Al-Shabaab jihadist fighters.

"We were awoken by huge blasts early in the morning. The blasts were at the African Union mission base. Heavy exchange of gunfire followed," local elder Mohamed Nur told Reuters.

The local military authorities said that the Al-Shabaab group has taken responsibility of the attack.

“The terrorists attacked the Burundian army base outside Ceel Baraf early this morning, there was heavy fighting and casualties inflicted on both sides, but we don’t have more details about this incident so far,” local military commander Mohamed Ali told AFP by phone.

“They launched the attack with a car bomb blast before a heavy exchange of gunfire broke out.”

Following the attacks, Al-Shabaab also released a statement. "The Mujahideen launched a pre-dawn raid on an ATMIS (African Union Mission) military base in El Baraf, middle Shabelle region," it read.

"After a fierce firefight, the Mujahideen managed to overrun the base and are now in complete control of the entire military base, " the statement further added.

The attack on Tuesday was one in a long line of bombings initiated by the extremist group against the peacekeeping forces in Mogadishu who are looking to topple the central government.

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(With inputs from agencies)