MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Al-Shabaab said on Thursday that United States air strikes killed 17 Jubaland regional forces it had captured during a deadly assault on military bases on the island of Kudhaa off southern Somalia on Wednesday, adding that a number of others were wounded.
In a statement, the militant group said U.S. forces carried out air strikes on bases seized from Jubaland troops during clashes on Wednesday and also hit civilian homes. It said the strikes targeted an area where soldiers captured in the fighting were being held and treated for wounds, resulting in the deaths of 17 detainees and injuries to many others.
Al-Shabaab said the number of Jubaland forces killed in its Wednesday attack had risen to 132, with more than 40 wounded. It added that its fighters seized a cache of weapons and later withdrew from the small island town, about 100 km southeast of Kismayo, after what it described as a successful operation.
Somalia’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday that the attack had been repelled and that 130 Al-Shabaab fighters were killed during a 24-hour operation conducted jointly by the Somali army’s Danab brigade, Jubaland forces and international partners.
The Somali government has not provided evidence to support its claim.
On Wednesday, Al-Shabaab released images showing its fighters inside a Jubaland military base in Kudhaa, as well as photographs it said showed the bodies of soldiers scattered around the base and others taken prisoner.
Latest reports indicate that Jubaland regional forces and Somalia’s U.S.-trained Danab special forces returned to their military bases in Kudhaa that had been captured by the militants on Wednesday, after Al-Shabaab fighters withdrew from the island early on Thursday.
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