By Mohammed Dhaysane
Monday March 1, 2021
African Union peacekeeping forces repulse attacking al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists, mount ambush
MOGADISHU, Somalia— At least nine al-Shabaab terrorists were killed in Somalia Sunday when the al-Qaeda-affiliated terror group mounted an attack Sunday morning on an army base in the country's southwest.
Mohamed Mukhtar, the district deputy commissioner in the town of Qasahdhere in the Bay region, told local media that the army, backed by Ethiopian forces serving under the African Union peacekeeping mission forces in the Horn of Africa country (AMISOM) killed at least nine terrorists during the attack.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency over the phone, Qasahdhere district commissioner Abdirisaq Abdi Ibrahim said his administration, along with the regional paramilitary forces and AMISOM were aware that the attack was coming and ambushed the terrorists."We received intelligence about the imminent attack and our forces managed to repulse the attack," Ibrahim said.
He added that more than 11 terrorist fighters were also wounded in the attack and their weapons seized.
Qasahdhere is an agriculture town located some 346 kilometers (214 miles) southwest of the Somali capital Mogadishu and 90 km west of Baidoa, Bay’s capital.