Al Shabaab militants attack Somali army base, says dozens dead

MOGADISHU, (Reuters) – Al Shabaab fighters attacked a remote Somali army base and entered a nearby town close to the border with Kenya yesterday, saying they had killed dozens of Kenyan soldiers in an African Union force supporting the government.

Somali and Kenyan military officials said fighters seized the Somali army base near the town of Ceel Cadde, about 550 km (340 miles) west of Mogadishu in a region near Kenya’s border.

Al Shabaab said it killed more than 60 Kenyan soldiers from the African force AMISOM, which said there was a battle for the base without giving details. Kenya’s Defence Ministry said both sides suffered casualties but said numbers were not confirmed.