MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Al-Shabaab on Wednesday captured the small island town of Kudhaa in Somalia’s southern Lower Juba region following a dawn assault on bases held by Jubaland regional forces.
The attack began with a car bomb, followed by an infantry assault on a Jubaland regional forces base in the town, which lies about 100km (62 miles) south-east of the port city of Kismayo.
Al-Shabaab’s media outlets said 113 Jubaland regional forces were killed in the ensuing fighting, with 43 others wounded and 16 taken prisoner.
Jubaland regional officials had not immediately commented on the incident.
The group also released images purporting to show the seized Jubaland military base, the bodies of dead soldiers, and detainees whose faces were covered.
The seizure of Kudhaa comes amid a recent escalation in Al-Shabaab attacks against Somali security forces. In a separate assault this week, the group targeted Somali army bases near the coastal town of Warsheikh, around a two-hour drive north-east of the capital, Mogadishu.
Al-Shabaab claimed it overran four army bases there, seizing four military vehicles along with a cache of weapons.
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