MOGADISHU, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- More than 30 al-Shabab militants were killed and several others injured in heavy fighting between al-Shabab and Somali National Army (SNA) backed by forces from Galmudug State near Wisil town in central Somalia Wednesday, an official said Thursday.
Deputy Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism, Abdirahman Yusuf Al-Adala, said that the joint forces defeated al-Shabab militants who were regrouping in areas east of the Mudug region by flushing them out of their strongholds.
"It was the deadliest day for the terrorists as SNA and Galmudug State forces inflicted heavy casualties on them on Wednesday. The operation got into its second day on Thursday. It aims at dislodging terrorists from the region," Adala said.
Galmudug State authorities confirmed that there were casualties on their sides and some officers were killed during the fighting with the militant group but did not disclose the number of casualties.
Al-Shabab militants claimed to have killed 58 soldiers, injured 71 others and recovered four vehicles at a village near Wisil town in the same region.
The latest onslaught came hours after the government said that the security forces killed 1,650 al-Shabab militants and injured more than 550 others during military offensive operations in areas under Galmudug and Hirshabelle States in the past two months.
The government troops backed by international partners have intensified offensives against the terrorists since last year when President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared "all-out war" on the terrorist group.
