More on this story from yesterday.
[ShabelleMedia] Backed by locals, elite Somali forces killed more than 100 members of the al Qaeda-affiliated terror group al-Shabaab...... Somalia's version of the Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Friday.
Ministry front man Abdullahi Ali Anod told news hounds that two units of the elite Danab, or lightning brigade, troops with the support of, local militia forces are known as "Macwisley," engaged al-Shabaab in an operation since early Thursday.
The operation, which involved
...KABOOM!...
s, took place near the town of Adanyabal in the Horn of Africa country’s Middle Shabelle region.
Anad said a large number of al-Shabaab gunnies tried to defend the town but lost over 100 members on a single front.
The military has been conducting operations against the terror group since President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud declared an "all-out war" against it earlier this week after a devastating twin boom-mobileing that killed over 100 people in the capital Mogadishu.
Al-Shabaab grabbed credit for the deadly attack, which also maimed 320 others.
Experts believe the local forces that have been fighting alongside the country’s army are playing "significant" role against al-Shabaab.
Ali Kulow, a former police officer now serving as a security analyst in Mogadishu, told Anadolu Agency that local militia forces helped the government reclaim strategic towns in its recent offensives in parts of the country.
"This militia, that has proven itself a fighting force, is seen by many in the country as a revolutionary force capable of defeating al-Shabaab if they receive logistical support and strategic military planning," said Kulow.
He underlined that the militia knew the countryside better than anybody and had the support of the local population in terms of gathering intelligence on al-Shabaab in the area.
"The government should use the anger and dedication towards al-Shabaab because these people witness the real brutality and money extortion of al-Shabaab. So, I can see a real opportunity here and the government should organize and use them and then integrate them into the national army," he added.