Mogadishu, Jun. 17, (dpa/GNA) - At least 30 people were killed in an attack by the terrorist militia al-Shabaab on the city of Bahdo in central Somalia on Friday.
The Islamist terrorists had first detonated a car bomb and then opened fire on people, according to a police spokesperson.
Police and witnesses said that local militias and armed residents offered concerted resistance, together with soldiers of the local authorities.
It is one of the deadliest attacks the region has seen recently, a spokesperson said. Around 20 al-Shabaab members were killed in the fighting, as well as roughly 10 civilians, police officers, and members of a militia.
Al-Shabaab, on the other hand, declared on their own radio station that they had killed 27 people and only lost a single fighter.
The terrorist group has been continually launching attacks in the Horn of Africa. It seeks to bring down the current government and replace it with an Islamic state.
The new Somalian President Hassan Sheik Mohamud declared his determination in the fight against terrorism at his inauguration last week. The government will increase the military pressure on terrorist organizations, he promised.
Somalia’s population of roughly 16 million people is not only shaken by terrorist violence but also suffering from the worst drought in 40 years. Over 800,000 people have fled their villages to escape the threat of starvation.
GNA