Follow up to this announcement from yesterday, when Al Shabaab claimed to have killed 50 Somali soldiers.
[Garowe] The Somali National Army [SNA] on Wednesday repulsed an al-Shabaab
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...attack at a military base North of Mogadishu, state media confirmed, in what comes amid ongoing military operations in the country.
State media said the attack was repulsed in Budbud village within the fragile Galgaduud in central Somalia, where the Lions of Islam have been trying to expand their territory following sustained military attacks. The military has been trying to gain more access to central regions in the ongoing operations.
The al-Shabaab Lions of Islam suffered heavy casualties during the fierce shootout with the military teams, senior SNA officers told the state media. Until now, the exact number of the Lions of Islam who were killed by the military is yet to be established but some unconfirmed reports say dozens of people were killed.
"The National Armed Forces and locals repulsed an attempted attack by al-Shabaab murderous Moslems on an army base near Budbud village in Galgadud region, on Wednesday. Terrorists suffered heavy casualties, SNA officials told State Media," the government media reported later on Wednesday.
Eyewitnesses termed the attack as "complex" with the Lions of Islam targeting a military base situated in the region. Budbud is one of several villages captured by government forces within the last few days as they move deep into 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...
state ahead of the planned second phase of operations against the murderous Moslems.
Al-Shabaab claims "overrunning" the camp, killing soldiers and seizing vehicles, a claim that is yet to be independently verified. The Lions of Islam often thrive on propaganda whenever they are on the receiving end and in most recent battles, the national army with the help of international partners has managed to tame them.