AU convoy repulses Al-Shabaab attack in Somalia

A convoy of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) has repulsed an ambush by Islamist group Al-Shabaab Wednesday morning, a local official said.

The AMISOM convoy was travelling from the Somali capital of Mogadishu to the port city of Barawe in Central Somalia when the attack took place, Hussein Barre, the governor of Barawe town, told Xinhua by phone.

"They (Al-Shabaab militants) attempted to lay ambush on the AMISOM convoy but were easily overpowered. The troops opened fire on the militants who immediately fled the area," said Barre, adding there were no casualties.

A witness told Xinhua there were sounds of heavy gunfire in the area.

"We heard heavy gunfire in Golwayn village which is not far from the town and we learnt Al-Shabaab had attacked an AMISOM convoy," said Abdullahi Jimale, the witness.

The attack came barely a week after Al-Shabbab stormed an African Union (AU) military base in El-Adde, southern Somalia. Al-Shabaab claims to have killed 100 Kenyan soldiers in the attack but the exact number of casualties are yet not known.

Al-Shabaab was flushed out of Barawe late 2014 by a joint operation between the Somali army, AMISOM and the U.S. military. Endit