Al-Shabab militants storm military base in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab militants have carried out a pre-dawn attack on a military base in southern Somalia on Sunday morning, Garowe Online reports.

The al-Shabab-affiliated Andalus radio station reported, citing unnamed commander that the militants rammed the base in El-Salini area outside Marka city with an explosives-packed vehicle, and then stormed it on foot.

"We first attacked the base with a suicide car bomb and then stormed. We seized six pick-up trucks and inflicted heavy casualties on the soldiers after overrunning the base," said the Al-Shabab commander.

The base which lies on the outskirts of the port city of Marka, the regional capital of Lower Shabelle province is some 110 km (68 miles) south of Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

The base which lies on the outskirts of the port city of Marka, the regional capital of Lower Shabelle province is some 110 km (68 miles) south of Mogadishu, the Somali capital. 

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

The assault shows that al-Shabab remains a dangerous force, despite losing territory to the AU force and some of its top commanders were killed in US airstrikes in the south and central Somalia.

For a decade, Al Shabab is fighting to topple Somalia’s UN-backed weak Federal Government which is protected by a 22,000 African Union soldiers from Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, and Burundi.

GAROWE ONLINE