Clashes between militant group al-Shabaab and Somali forces near the Kenyan border left at least 17 people dead on Monday.
The al-Qaeda-linked group launched a suicide bomb attack on a Somali army post in Beled Hawo, and then briefly took control of the town, according to Siyad Abdi-Kalil, a regional commander.
Abdi-Kalil said: “The terrorist elements attacked our army post outside Beled Hawo with a suicide car bombing and then heavily armed militants moved in and took several parts of the town during Morning Prayer at dawn.”
He said the Somali army pushed back, killing 10 militants with the support of Kenyan troops, who form part of an AU mission to the volatile East African country.
He stated that seven Somali soldiers were also killed in the fighting.
A senior Somali government official, who asked not to be named said casualties on both sides could rise.
On the militants’ radio station, al-Shabaab claimed to have killed more than 20 Somali troops.
Residents said dozens of civilians fleeing the fighting had briefly crossed into the nearby town of Mandera in Kenya.
Al-Shabaab is seeking to establish an Islamist state in Somalia and is affiliated with the international al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Kenya has about 3,700 troops fighting al-Shabaab as part of an AU mission to its neighbour.
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