...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa...in central Somalia, where the krazed killer group faced an offensive.
The attack sparked a direct shootout between the two sides that ended up in the pushback of the Lions of Islam with army officials saying at least 20 al-Shabaab members are dead.
For its part, al-Shabaab claimed a similar victory over the SNA, adding it killed dozens of soldiers in the skirmish in El-Dheere which straddles the Hiran-Middle Shabelle regions.
The situation has been tense in the area as the army launched a manhunt operation in search of al-Shabaab remnants. There was no independent source confirming both claims.