More than 20 terrorists from the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab terrorist group were killed in an operation conducted by the Peacekeeping forces of the African Union (A.U.) Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) late Wednesday according to local reports.
The operation took place in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region.
AMISOM carried out the operation hours after al-Shabaab attacked the capital Mogadishu on multiple fronts and briefly took over the Kahda district police station.
The attacks, which began with suicide car bombings, killed at least five people, including two civilians, and wounded 16 others.
AMISOM was said to have executed the operation without the coordination of federal government security forces.
As the Somali government focuses on completing parliamentary elections by a Feb. 25 deadline, al-Shabaab have doubled their terrorist attacks.
Last night’s attack on Mogadishu was the first such frontal assault by the group since 2011, when Somali government forces backed by AMISOM fully took control over Mogadishu.
Al-Shabaab were driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 after an offensive by an A.U. force, but still control vast swathes of rural Somalia from where they launch regular attacks.
