Bartamaha (Galgala):- Security forces from the Somali breakaway state of Puntland said Wednesday they had taken control of the last base used by Al-Qaeda-linked militants led by local warlord Mohamed Said Atom.
Puntland forces launched their assault on Sunday, nearly two weeks after a similar deadly offensive targeting the group of several hundred fighters led by Atom, who is on a UN Security Council watchlist.
The two sides briefly exchanged gunfire before the Islamists fled the village where they had been based near the Galgala mountains in northern Somalia, senior Puntland security officer Mohamed Abdirahman told AFP.
“We have taken control of the last base where the terrorist leader trained his militants and if God wills the war will soon be over after we arrest the militia commander,” Abdirahman told AFP by phone.
Another security officer, Lieutenant Colonel Omar Abdulahi, said the Puntland forces had lost two soldiers during Wednesday’s clashes and killed seven militants.
However, militant commander Abdikarin Ahmed Beynah denied the claim and said instead that his forces were besieging the Puntland troops.
“The enemy forces are trapped in the mountainous area where they encountered tough resistance and for the time being, I tell you they are in the middle of nowhere with our fighters besieging them,” Beynah told AFP by phone.
“They lost many soldiers and many more will die in the course,” he added, saying he was near the Galgala mountains.
Witnesses said residents had fled the fighting.
“Transport access is becoming difficult around Galgala and most civilians have fled but still there are some who are trapped in the area with the fighting still sporadically going on,” said local resident Ali Nasir.
“All we can know so far is that Puntland forces are advancing on the strongholds of Atom and without encountering strong resistance,” he added.
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Source:-AFP.
