The authorities in Puntland state have displayed weapons and bodies of suspected Al-Shabab fighters barely a day after Puntland military was attacked.
Heavy armed Al-Shabab fighters on Saturday night attacked a military base manned by Puntland forces in Bali-Khadar village of Galgala mountains, northern Somalia.
Authorities said over forty Al-Shabab fighters were killed and dozens escaped with injuries following fierce fighting with Puntland soldiers.
In a press conference, Puntland state displayed bodies of suspected Al-Shabab who were reportedly killed during the attack.
Dozens of photos were posted on Social Media with some showing a large cache of light arms reportedly left by Al-Shabab attackers.
Many of those photos released are too graphic to be published.
On the other hand, Al-Shabab claimed to have killed over 20 Puntland soldiers in its attack on the military base.
This is the second major attack launched by Al-Shabab since 2016 when the group lost over 100 of its fighters in a battle with Puntland forces in Suuj Village.
The fighting broke out after Al-Shabab briefly held a port town of Gara’ad prompting heavy fighting between the fighters and Puntland forces.
Puntland said it killed 173 fighters including foreigners during a week-long fierce fighting with Al-Shabab.
The region also paraded over 30 Al-Shabab fighters majority being underage recruited children.
Puntland, which occupies a region of northeastern Somalia, declared itself to be an autonomous state in 1998 but remains under the purview of the Somali federal government.
It borders the breakaway state of Somaliland, which declared independence following the overthrow of Somali military dictator Siad Barre in 1991.
Puntland lies outside the area of operation of the African Union mission in Somalia—known as AMISOM—which deploys some 22,000 troops in the Horn of Africa state.
AMISOM and the Somali National Army drove Al-Shabab out of its strongholds in southern Somalia in 2015, but the group has since reportedly moved northwards into parts of Puntland and far south of the country.
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