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Conflicting reports after ‘scores killed’ in Somalia attack

Araweelo News Network

Al Qaeda-allied Al Shabaab intends to topple Somalia’s west-backed government

Nairobi(ANN)-The Islamist extremist group al-Shabab and the Kenyan military had conflicting reports Friday about an incident that was said to have killed scores of people.

It came after militants attacked a Kenyan army base in the town of Kulbiyow in southern Somalia’s Lower Jubba region, close to the border with Kenya.

Sheikh Abdiaziz Abu-Musab, a spokesman for al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabab, told the Associated Press that its fighters killed at least 51 soldiers in the early morning attack.

Kenyan military spokesman P.M. Njuguna denied the claim, the AP reported. The news agency cited Kenyan authorities saying that “scores” of militants were killed when soldiers repelled the assault.

Al-Shabab often overstates the deaths from its attacks while Kenyan authorities usually underplay their country’s losses, according to AFP.

Extremist gunmen storm hotel in Somalia, 12 killed
Suicide bombers in trucks were the first to attack, and a number of militants then entered the camp, AFP reported.

“Fighters have taken control of the base and the overall Kolbiyow area after massacring the Kenyan infidels,” an al-Shabab statement carried by the news agency said.

Njuguna added: “We are engaging the enemy and we have actually repulsed them, but it is ongoing.”

The Kenyan soldiers are serving as African Union peacekeepers in Somalia, where al-Shabab is fighting to impose a strict version of Islam.

The attack comes days after at least eight victims were killed and 14 injured after al-Shabab extremists stormed a hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Four militants were also killed as Somali security forces fought to end the siege, according to media reports.

admin: Arraale Mohamoud Jama is a highly experienced freelance and investigative journalist, writer, and human rights activist with over two decades of work in journalism and advocacy. His focus areas include: - Human rights - Politics and security - Democracy and good governance He has contributed to Somaliland newspapers and collaborated with human rights organizations. In 2008, he founded Araweelo News Network, a platform covering regional and international news, which he continues to manage. Contact Information: -Email: Info@araweelonews.com | jaamac132@gmail.com - Phone/SMS/MMS/WhatsApp: +252 63 442 5380 Twitter fallow us @Araweelonews Falow us Facebook: [@Araweelonews )
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