MOGADISHU – More than 70 members of the Islamist armed group Al-Shabaab were killed during an army operation with local forces in Somalia, the information ministry said on Tuesday. 

Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab has been fighting the federal government for more than 15 years to try to establish Islamic law in the impoverished country. 

“Over 70 extremist militants were eliminated through the coordinated efforts of the National Army and local forces. In addition to the significant militant losses, a large cache of weapons was seized and several combat vehicles utilised by the extremists were destroyed,” the ministry said in a statement. 

The operation took place on Tuesday at several sites in Hirshabelle state in south central Somalia, it added. 

AFP could not independently verify the death toll, but several witnesses confirmed the fighting. 

“The armed men of Al- Shabaab were beaten,” one resident contacted by telephone said, adding that “dozens” of their bodies were visible in the combat zones. 

Several sources said the armed operation came in response to Al-Shabaab attacks in the area in the last few days. 

Al-Shabaab has carried out numerous bomb and other attacks in the capital Mogadishu and several other regions of the volatile Horn of Africa country. 

Although they were driven out of the capital by African Union (AU) forces in 2011, the group is still present in rural areas. 

Somalia’s president has promised “total” war against Al- Shabaab. The army has joined forces with local militias in a military campaign backed by an AU force and United States airstrikes. -Nampa/AFP