14 Al-Shabaab militants killed in S. Somalia

The Somali army killed at least 14 Al-Shabaab militants, including a senior commander, on Tuesday in an operation in the country's southern region, a senior official said.

Deputy Minister of Defense, Abdalla Hussein Ali, told journalists that the militants were killed in a bush area some 50 km south of the capital Mogadishu on Tuesday evening and that some weapons were recovered.

Ali said a senior Al-Shabaab commander was among those killed in the operation. He did not say whether government forces suffered casualties during the operation.

The Al-Shabaab Islamist group has been fighting against the Somali government for years, staging frequent attacks in the country. Endit