Mogadishu, Feb 1 (IANS) Over 40 Al-Shabaab militants were killed and several others injured in an air strike targeting a militant base in southern Somalia, officials said Saturday.
Abdulkadir Mohamed Nor Sidi, Governor of the Lower Shebelle region in southern Somalia, told Xinhua that the air strike hit an Al-Shabaab convoy and a training camp in the Dugale village.
“Over 40 militants were killed in the air strike and a number of others have been injured. The camp has also been completely destroyed,” Sidi said over telephone.
A resident in the area told Xinhua that the strike was huge and could be heard from a distance. “There was a loud explosion…and we ran away…fearing for our lives.”
However, it was not yet verified whether the strike was conducted by the US or the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
The US and AMISOM have carried out similar strikes in the past with the latest being in December, last year, which killed the Al-Shabaab commander Abdishakur Tahlil.