Islamic Militants Kill Somali Soldiers 10/28 06:16

   

   MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Islamic extremist militants killed at least 20 
Somali soldiers in an ambush, a military officer who survived the attack said, 
as the government acknowledged damage to military vehicles but disclosed no 
troop casualties.

   The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group, which has fought Somalia's government 
for nearly two decades, claimed responsibility for Monday's attack near Jameeca 
village in southern Somalia.

   The Defense Ministry said its troops killed about 75 militants and wounded 
56 during hours of fighting. Al-Shabab claimed it killed 321 soldiers and 
captured prisoners and military equipment.

   The casualty figures and claims of captured soldiers and equipment could not 
be independently verified.

   Abshir Abdikarim, a military officer traveling with the convoy, told The 
Associated Press by phone late Tuesday that he saw at least 20 of his fellow 
soldiers dead after the attack. He said troops had advanced from Leego into 
Jameeca, in Burhakaba district in the Bay region, where they exchanged heavy 
gunfire with militants.

   Some soldiers previously reported missing reached Baledogle on Tuesday, he 
said, while others remained unaccounted for.

   The ministry described the confrontation as an assault on militant 
positions. Al-Shabab said its fighters ambushed a convoy advancing into 
territory under its control.

   The ministry said militants used explosives-laden vehicles to attack army 
vehicles, damaging some of them. It did not specify how many were damaged or 
address the claims that soldiers had been captured.

   Al-Shabab said it seized Turkish-supplied armored vehicles, armed pickup 
trucks, supply trucks, weapons and ammunition.

   African Union troops pushed al-Shabab out of Mogadishu in 2011, but the 
group adapted through guerrilla warfare, suicide bombings and targeted 
assassinations.

   Somali authorities have reported territorial gains during a U.S.-backed 
military campaign, although access restrictions have made those claims 
difficult to verify independently. The militants have retained the ability to 
operate across large areas of central and southern Somalia.

   The fighting comes amid a separate struggle for control of South West state. 
Government troops last month clashed near Baidoa with militias loyal to former 
regional President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, who resigned after 
federal forces seized the city in March.

   The Defense Ministry said government forces would continue to target 
al-Shabab positions and disrupt efforts by its fighters to regroup.