... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...launched predawn attacks Wednesday against an army base, local officials told Anadolu.
Heavy gunfire was exchanged during the multi-pronged strike on an army camp in northern Mudug province, a military official in the central state of Galmudug
...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth...
said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The attack on the camp, located in the newly liberated village of Caad, was repelled, though "both sides" had suffered multiple casualties, the official said without elaborating on how many soldiers were killed.
Al-Shabaab grabbed credit for the attack and said it had overrun five military bases in and around Caad district and seized military vehicles.
The group in a propaganda statement said after the attack that it attacked bases housing 1,350 army soldiers and killed over 191 soldiers.
The Somali National News Agency (SONNA) reported that the army, backed by locals, thwarted the al-Shabaab attack, inflicting "heavy losses on terrorists."