MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Heavy fighting broke out on Sunday in the Burjed area on the outskirts of Baidoa, the interim capital of Somalia’s Southwest State, after Al-Shabaab militants launched a pre-dawn assault on army and regional paramilitary force bases.
The attack began with a suicide car bomb, triggering intense clashes that lasted several hours and resulted in numerous casualties. The sounds of gunfire and heavy explosions echoed across Baidoa, sparking panic among residents.
The Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the assault, stating that it had overrun several army positions. The group released images purportedly showing burning makeshift tents used by troops, the bodies of dead soldiers, and a captured soldier with his hands tied behind his back.
Neither the Southwest State authorities nor the Somali National Army have issued an official statement regarding the attack.
This latest incident is part of a wave of intensified Al-Shabaab assaults on Somali military forces and their allies across southern and central Somalia. It follows the group’s claim of capturing El Qohle in Hiran region a day earlier—an area that had previously witnessed a clan uprising that temporarily pushed the militants out of eastern Hiran. However, Al-Shabaab has since reversed nearly all of those territorial losses.
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