Al-Shabab Attacks AU Base in Somalia

Media sources in Mogadishu reveal that the terrorist group Al-Shabab again attacked an African Union (AU) base in the town of El-Ade in Somalia on Friday. Fighters from the group exchanged gunfire with AU peacekeepers according to a Somali military official. The AU peacekeepers, made up of primarily Kenyan troops at the base, launched a counter-attack. “The troops are currently fighting the terrorists to push them back,” Lt. Colonel Paul Njuguna, the spokesman for the AU mission in Somalia told Al Jazeera English. In a statement, Al-Shabab claimed they had killed more than 63 Kenyan “crusaders”. Lt. Colonel Njuguna dismissed these claims, noting that the group is infamous for lying and issuing false messages. The group has been slowly pushed out of most of Somalia’s major cities, but continues to launch guerrilla attacks within the country. Al-Shabab has also launched several deadly attacks in Kenya.