MOGADISHU, June 16 (Reuters) – Somalia’s al Shabaab rebels attacked a government-held checkpoint outside Mogadishu on Tuesday, with six fighters dying in the battle, residents said.
A two-year insurgency led by the Islamist group which western security services say is al Qaeda’s proxy in Somalia has killed 18,000 civilians, made 1 million people homeless, drawn in foreign jihadists, and enabled piracy to flourish offshore.
“Heavy fighting took place … al Shabaab men have ambushed a checkpoint here controlled by government soldiers. I saw six people dead in the battle,” said a resident of Galgalato village, about 15 km (9 miles) northeast of the capital.
In the latest cycle of 18 years of violence, al Shabaab and another militant group, Hizbul Islam, are fighting the administration of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and an allied moderate Islamist group Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca. [ID: nLT226533].
The insurgents control large swathes of south Somalia and parts of the capital, with some districts changing hands regularly in heavy fighting during recent weeks.
An al Shabaab spokesman, Sheikh Ali Hussein Raghe, confirmed Tuesday’s attack and vowed more would follow. “The Mujahideen have confiscated three battle-wagons from the enemy. We shall keep on attacking to eradicate illegal checkpoints.”
Galgalato is on a strategic road linking Mogadishu to the north coast. Government officials were not immediately available for comment on Tuesday’s violence.
(Reporting by Ibrahim Mohamed; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
