10 Al-Shabaab militants killed in Hiiraan region clash with Somali forces

Ten Al-Shabaab members were killed Friday afternoon in a battle with the national army and local militia near Murkudka in the Hiiraan region, officials reported.

The clash erupted when the 39th Battalion of the 5th Brigade of the 27th Division and the 10th Commando Battalion of Gorgor, backed by local militia, launched an attack on a wooded area in the Murkudka. Operation leaders reported that 15 Al-Shabaab members were killed during the assault, and weapons and other military supplies were seized.

Military officials vowed to continue operations against Al-Shabaab until the group is eradicated from the Hiiraan region.

Earlier in the week, intense fighting near Beerayabaal in the Hiiraan region saw government forces and local militia clashing with Al-Shabaab fighters. That battle resulted in the deaths of at least ten other Al-Shabaab fighters. The following day, forces captured an Ethiopian national from the Oromo ethnic group who had participated in the firefight near Beerayabaal.