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AU says verifying number of casualties after base attack in Somalia

Xinhua, September 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

African Union peacekeeping fore (AMISOM) said Tuesday its currently verifying the number of casualties and extent of the damage caused during a car bombing and assault on their military base by Al-Shabaab.

In a statement issued in Mogadishu, AMISOM confirmed that its base at Janaale, Lower Shabelle Region in southern Somalia came under attack from Al-Shabaab militants.

"The militants used a car loaded with explosives to trigger the attack and to facilitate their forced entry into the camp after which they engaged our soldiers in a gun-battle," it said.

The AU mission said although its troops undertook a tactical withdrawal following the initial vehicle borne explosive attack, they have since consolidated and regained full control of the base.

Sources said at least 20 AU soldiers were killed and a similar number reportedly captured alive by the militants during the attack in southern Somalia.

The Islamist militants said they killed 50 soldiers in the attack on the base in Janaale, about 120 kilometers south of the capital, Mogadishu and include a camp of the African peacekeeping force. Endit