Somali Army gains more ground after liberation of four villages

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: The Somali government has announced the seizure of several strategic villages from the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group, Khawarij, in recent operations carried out in Hiran and Middle Shabelle regions.

Abdullahi Ali Anod, spokesman for Somalia’s Ministry of Defense, who spoke to reporters on Saturday in the capital Mogadishu, said four villages, namely Gulane, Darusalam, Harga-Dhere, and Mabah, all located in the Hiran and Middle Shabelle regions, were liberated in the joint operations carried out by the army with the support of local fighters.

The Defense Minister confirmed that six Khawarij fighters were killed in the operation that took place in the Middle Shabelle region, while 10 others were killed in the region of Hiran.

He also admitted that the National Army suffered some setbacks after three of its soldiers were wounded in the operations. He added that two of the three soldiers sustained serious injuries but were currently receiving treatment.

According to the Defense Spokesman, the army liberated more than 80 kilometers of areas previously seized by the terrorist group, with Mabah, which is the last village east of Hiran that was under the terrorist’s grip, also being liberated.