Over 100 al-Shabab fighters killed in northern Somalia

More than 100 al-Shabab fighters have been killed in heavy fighting with pro-government forces in northern Somalia, the regional government has said.

At least 115 of the fighters were killed while some 110 others were captured during the fight, said a statement from the Galmudug government.

There has been no independent confirmation of the claims, said the BBC.

Xinhua news agency last Friday quoted Galmudug’s Information Minister as saying the region’s government forces had killed at least 23 al-Shabab fighters and arrested 22 others in heavy fighting between the two sides.

Somalia: At least 115 militants of Islamist al-Shabab group killed in heavy fighting with pro-govt forces.

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The al-Qaeda linked group has recently moved up north after losing grounds in the southern and central regions of Somalia.

Galmudug’s President, Abdikarim Hussein Galaud said the security forces were determined to “wipe out” the militants, and to prevent them from establishing bases in stable parts of the north.

The militants were defeated after four days of fighting on the border between Galmudug and Puntland, said the government statement adding that a few of them managed to flee into rural areas.

The statement did not give casualty figures for pro-government forces.

The African Union (AU) has some 22,000 troops battling al-Shabab in southern Somalia, where it was formed nearly a decade ago.

Last month, the Islamist militants overran an AU base in the southern town of el-Ade.

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said about 180 Kenyan troops, which were part of the AU force, were killed in that attack. _News Agencies _