Dozens feared dead as militants storm African Union army base in Somalia

Al-Shabab militants claim they have overrun an African Union military base in southern Somalia. The Islamist group says it killed more than 60 Kenyan soldiers as it took “complete control” of the camp outside the town of el-Ade. The militants were said to have raised their flag at the camp and paraded the bodies of Kenyan troops through the town. But Kenya’s army spokesman said it was a nearby Somali base which was stormed and Kenyan troops counter-attacked.

At the moment the camp is in the hands of al-Shabab. We can see military cars burning and dead soldiers all over the place. There are no civilian casualties but most people have fled the town

el-Ade resident

Dozens of al-Shabab fighters were said to have been involved in the attack on the base, which is not far from the Kenyan border. The attack started with a suicide car bomb and then heavy gunfire was heard as fighters stormed into the base. Fighting was still going on inside the base, according to Somalian military sources but there were no official details about any casualties. However, al-Shabab claimed it had captured the base after an hour of fighting. Despite being pushed out of Somalia’s major cities and towns, al-Shabab, which has ties with al-Qaeda, continues to launch deadly guerrilla attacks across the country.

We counted 63 Kenyan bodies inside the base. The other Kenyan troops have run away into the bush and we are hunting them down

Al-Shabab spokesman

Africa al shabab