Somali security forces on Sunday evening captured several al-Shabab bases following operations in Dolow and Luuq towns in the southern region of Gedo, an army official confirmed on Monday.
Gedo regional intelligence commander, Abdirahman Abdullahi Adan, said the joint operations, which involved the Somali National Army, the police, and intelligence forces, were conducted in response to al-Shabab attacks on the civilian population in the two towns.
Adan told the state-owned Somali news agency that the joint forces destroyed several key bases that al-Shabab militants have been using to mount attacks in the Gedo region.
A local media report, however, said four al-Shabab terrorists were killed and several others wounded following the clashes with government forces.
The report, by Halbeeg, said the security forces also recovered weapons and ammunition during the operations.
Government forces have intensified security operations across the country since early this year against the terror group, which still controls some rural parts in southern and central Somalia and continues to carry out high-profile attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere. Xinhua