Somalia army seizes southern town from Islamists

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somali forces backed by AU soldiers delivered another serious blow to the Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group, Al-Shabab Wednesday after seizing more ground, Garowe Online reports.

The country’s information ministry said that the U.S.-trained Danab forces had captured the town of Bariire, which lies about 65 kilometers west of Mogadishu, and has made advances into nearby farmlands.

The ministry announced that the seizure of the settlement in volatile Lower Shabelle region would be strategically devastating for Islamist group which is waging a decade-long insurgency in Somalia.

The local troops with the support of AU and American forces have been gaining ground in the region over the past few months as part of an all-out offensive to flush out Al-Shabab from remaining areas.

The agriculture-rich Bariire was the scene where a U.S. Navy SEAL, Kyle Milliken, 38, has been killed while fighting the al-Shabab militants in May 2017, the Pentagon has confirmed his death.

Milliken is the first American service member killed in combat in the war-torn country since a deadly battle in 1993 in Mogadishu- the clash that inspired the movie Black Hawk Down.

GAROWE ONLINE