At least 16 Al-Shabaab terrorists killed in Somalia as troops foil attack

FILE PHOTO: Al-Shabaab has several times in the past attempted to seize the area but was repelled

MOGADISHU -- Somalia's regional forces on Friday morning killed 16 al-Shabab terrorists in a foiled attack on Bahdo town in the central part of the country, officials said.

The military officials from Galmudug State told Somali National Army (SNA) Radio that the regional forces backed by the local residents fought bravely and repulsed the attackers.

"The regional security forces of Somalia's Galmudug State and local residents have gallantly repulsed an attack by al-Shabab on Bahdo town on Friday morning, killing 16 al-Shabab terrorists," the SNA Radio reported.

The locals said the dead bodies of al-Shabab terrorists were scattered on the ground after the foiled attack.

Witnesses said al-Shabab started their offensive by detonating multiple vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices targeting the village and security forces.

"But the troops later teamed up with local residents and local Sufi militia to put up a strong resistance and thwarted the attack," a local resident who declined to be named said on the phone.

The Somali government forces which have intensified security operations across the country since early this year have vowed to sustain the onslaught against the militant group until their fighters are subdued.

However, the al-Shabab terror group which still controls some parts of rural southern and central Somalia continues to carry out high-profile attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere across the country.