African Union troops killed in al-shabaab ambush

Alshabaab militants on Sunday ambushed African Union troops leaving dozens dead.

The incident occured in the Lower Shabelle region south of Somalia. Reports indicated that fighting broke out when the al-Shabaab fighters attacked the AMISOM troops.

A government official told Reuters that they had carried 23 dead AMISOM soldiers and a dead Somali soldier from the scene where attack occured.

But al shabaab claimed that hey had killed 39 AMISOM troops. The claim by the al-Qaeda linked fighters, made by the group’s spokesman on an affiliated radio station, could not be immediately verified.

The African Union has a 22,000 strong force in the country dedicated to fighting al-Shabab and supporting the internationally backed government in Mogadishu.