Somalia: Large bomb-making Al-Shabaab base destroyed in operation

FILE - Somali soldiers stand at a Somali military base, near the site of an attack by al-Shabab, in Lower Juba, June 13, 2018. The base was the target of another al-Shabab assault Monday.

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Al-Shabaab suffered a huge blow on Monday following coordinated operations involving the Somali National Army [SNA] and foreign troops, who have been working tirelessly to annihilate and vanquish the extremists, who are dominant in most parts of Somalia.

According to the state media, the Somali National Army with assistance from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] and the US Africa Command, managed to destroy the militants bases in Mukayle and Bulo Burde villages where the militants have been regular.

The two villages have been under the control of the militants, who still control large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia, but have recently lost substantive grounds to the military following coordinated operations. The two villages are also strategic to the military in the whole concept of operations.

During the raid, state media notes, a large garage where explosives are stored was seized with four buses destroyed. Several militants are also said to have been killed during the incident, but the exact number is yet to be shared by relevant authorities in the country, officials confirmed.

"In a coordinated operation, the Somali National Army and allies destroyed an Al-Shabaab stronghold in Mukayle, Bulo Burde," state media reported. "A large garage storing explosives was discovered. Four mini-buses rigged with explosives were destroyed. Several individuals were killed."

The national army with assistance from international partners has activated the final phase of operations against the Al-Shabaab within Galmadug and HirShabelle states, dubbed Black Lion Mission, which is set to comb the region before the military diverts attention for the second phase of operations in Jubaland and Southwest states.

According to the government, the first phase left at least 3,000 Al-Shabaab militants dead in central parts of the country, with several also injured in the process. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud insists that all parts of the country must be liberated from the militants.

Locals have also joined the war after mobilization stopped for a little while following differences between HirShabelle President Ali Gudlawe Hussein and former Hiiraan Governor Ali Jeyte Osman, who was sacked prematurely. Osman was viewed as the phase of clan mobilization.

GAROWE ONLINE