MOGADISHU, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Somali security forces backed by Southwestern State Army on Monday killed 7 members of al-Shabab fighters in an operation in Awdinle town in the southern region of Bay, a local official confirmed.
Ibrahim Mohamed Nur, governor of Awdinle town said that a joint offensive conducted by Somali National Army (SNA) and local army inflicted severe casualties on the militants and drove them out of many villages.
"It was a planned operation, we have captured Dambal Aran and Galdid villages during the offensive, our forces killed seven of the militants," Nur said, adding that the army will intensify operations against the militants until they drive al-Shabab fighters out of the whole region.
Residents said heavily armed government forces attacked the town targeting bases used by al-Shabab militants.
The latest offensive came barely a day after al-Shabab militants conducted an explosive attack in Galkayo town in the north-central region of Mudug which left four people dead.
Somali army backed by African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) forced al-Shabab extremists out of the capital Mogadishu in August 2011, but the militants still hold swathes of rural areas in southern and central Somalia conducting ambushes and planting land mines. Enditem
