Mogadishu [Somalia], October 6: In Somalia, at least 35 people have been killed in heavy fighting between the Islamist terrorist group Al Shabaab and paramilitary regional forces.
According to a regional commander of the security forces, the fighting lasted several hours on Wednesday near the village of Shabelow, in the central Somali province of Mudug. More than 25 Islamist fighters and 10 forces on the government side were killed, he said. Al Shabaab claimed through its own channels to have killed dozens of government soldiers.
Somalia's Deputy Information Minister Abdirahman Yusuf told dpa that the Islamists had suffered heavy losses. "Al Shabaab is losing more territory with each passing day," he said.
"Their presence in the Galmudug state of Somalia is almost disappearing." The Somali military, with the help of local militias, has been on a major offensive against Al Shabaab fighters, who have terrorised the Horn of Africa country for years.
They have retaken large areas in the centre of the country, which had been under the group's control. Al Shabaab still controls significant territory, especially in the country's south.
The Somali government on Wednesday said that it killed 1,650 Al Shabaab terrorists and injured more than 550 others in the last two months during several military operations in the south-central regions.
At least 19 high-ranking terrorists were among those killed in the recent operations in the Horn of Africa country, according to documents published by Somali National News Agency (SONNA) on Wednesday.
Source: Qatar Tribune