Multiple Deaths as Al-Shabaab Attacks Somali Army Base After Government Captures Port

An attack on a military camp in Hawadley town in the Middle Shabelle region of Somalia resulted in 26 fatalities and numerous injuries on Tuesday, media has reported.

Five government soldiers and 21 militants from the al-Shabaab group are among the deceased after a suicide bomber assaulted the base. Earlier on Tuesday, the army and terrorists engaged in combat, which was accompanied by loud gunshots and explosions.

The attack took place just days after the army overran the important port of Haradhere, which the jihadist group had held for fifteen years.

Al-Shabaab has lost sizable portions of its territory since August of last year, when government forces supported by clan militia launched an operation in southern and central Somalia.

However, the group has continued to launch attacks, primarily against African Union forces and government structures. It carried out four lethal bombings in Hiram's center during the course of the previous week.

Also last week, US Ambassador Larry Andre, Somali Minister of Defense Abdulkadir Mohamud Nur, and Somali National Army Chief Brigadier General Odowaa Yusuf Rage reportedly announced that weapons, vehicles, medical supplies and other equipment had been donated to the Somali Army, all of which is estimated to be worth approximately $9 million.

In addition to heavy weapons, the United States provided construction and bomb disposal equipment.

Earlier, Somali officials declared that Al-Shabaab jihadists were seeking negotiations amid mass offensives against them by the government. According to the country's deputy defense minister, talks are only possible with Somali militants but not with foreigners.

An Islamist militant group with ties to the terrorist organization al-Qaeda*, Al-Shabaab has been organizing attacks against the federal government of Somalia for a long time in an effort to establish a strict interpretation of Sharia law there.