MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Al-Shabaab militants launched a multi-pronged assault on Somali army positions in Afgoye on Tuesday, sparking hours of intense clashes, marking the latest in a surge of insurgent attacks since the army’s campaign against the group faltered last year, Caasimada Online news website reported.
The militants initially struck a military outpost in the Haanta-Dheer area on the outskirts of Afgoye, before swiftly targeting military bases in the Mukayga area within the town, seemingly employing a diversionary tactic to prevent the army from deploying reinforcements.
A suicide bomber detonated explosives at a restaurant in Afgoye, killing at least five people, while African Union peacekeepers later neutralized a landmine nearby, highlighting the unprecedented coordination of the attack, which marked a rare and brazen assault on the town, especially in broad daylight.
The militant group Al-Shabaab, through its media outlets, claimed responsibility for killing at least five soldiers, although the Somali government and the army have yet to provide any official details.
Since the federal government’s military campaign in central Somalia, supported by Turkish and US drones and thousands of armed clan militias, stalled in late 2023, Al-Shabaab has been amassing forces on the outskirts of Mogadishu, intermittently infiltrating the city’s peripheral neighborhoods and launching attacks on security forces, yet authorities have been unable to dislodge them from the surrounding areas despite multiple deadly offensive operations that ultimately proved futile.
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