No fewer than 15 people died on Tuesday in a clash between al-Shabaab militants and Somali Security Forces.
The heavily armed terrorists were said to have stormed government offices and military checkpoints around Bal’ad early Tuesday morning.
Somali government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar Omar reported heavy gunfire exchange between security forces and the militants as they attempt to take back the town.
“The terrorists tried to take the town completely but paid heavy prices as our security forces in the town overpowered them killing 14 militants on the spot.
“The situation in the town of Bal’ad is calm now. We lost one soldier while seven more civilians were wounded by stray bullets,” he said.
In a statement, al-Shabaab claimed to have completely, albeit briefly, overrun the town and that their fighters killed dozens of government soldiers.
“The fighting flared up after militants armed with RPGs and machine-guns attacked the town,” local elder Warsame Muhyadiin told dpa.
The militants targeted local government offices including the police station and central prison in the town according to residents.
The attack comes barely a day after the militants carried out a suicide car bombing at a military base in the town of Janaay Abdalle, killing two Somali soldiers and wounding several others including a U.S. serviceman.