Al Shabaab has claimed it has killed about 60 Ethiopian soldiers in an attack on the African Union Mission (AMISOM) camp in central Somalia on Thursday.
AMISOM says it repelled al Shabaab attack on base that "claimed 60 lives"
The Islamist group announced the attack, launched on the base at Halgan in the Hiran region, through the social networking tool, Telegram.
The attack was confirmed by AMISOM on Twitter yet claimed the militants were overpowered.
“We can confirm there was an attempted Al Shabaab attack on the AMISOM/SNA base in #Halgan Somalia. The enemy was successfully repulsed,” AMISOM said.
We can confirm there was an attempted Al Shabaab attack on the AMISOM/SNA base in #Halgan Somalia. The enemy was successfully repulsed.— AMISOM (@amisomsomalia) June 9, 2016
They added that an assortment of weapons were captured as a joint force of AMISOM troops and soldiers from the Somali National Army drove the attackers away and still in pursuit.
An assortment of weapons has been captured as the joint forces overpowered the attackers. More details to follow. #Halgan— AMISOM (amisomsomalia) June 9, 2016
The 22,000 AU-backed AMISOM force has been in Somalia since 2007 and helped drive out al Shabaab from the capital Mogadishu in August 2011. Al Shabaab is still in control of vast rural areas and momentarily conduct attacks on the capital.
On Wednesday, June 1, at least 10 people were killed and dozens more injured after al-Shabaab fighters set off a car bomb at the premises of the popular Ambassador Hotel in Mogadishu.