1st LD: Dozens killed in Al Shabaab attack on AU base in Somalia

Al Shabaab militants on Friday launched an attack on the El-Adde base of Africa Union peacekeepers in Gedo region in southern Somalia, killing dozens of soldiers, said officials and residents.

"They first rammed a suicide car bomb into the gate of the Kenyan forces base in El-Adde, about 93 km from the Kenyan border," Gedo Region's military commander Abdirazak Hussein told Xinhua.

"After that they exchanged heavy gunfire with the forces inside the base. There were many casualties between the two parties," he added.

Witnesses reported blasts and heavy gunfire.

"There was a heavy blast before the direct attack. The warring sides used heavy machine-guns. We still could hear the sound of the shooting," El-Adde resident Ahmed Naaleeye told Xinhua.

He said the fighting remains ongoing.

Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had taken over the base and killed more than 63 Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers.

Earlier, Al Jazeera reported that at least 50 Kenyan soldiers were killed early Friday in the attack launched by Al Shabaab. Endi