This archive report was first published on 14 August 2019.
On August 14, 2019, a suspected Al-Shabaab attack struck an army base in Awdheegle, southern Somalia, leaving a trail of destruction and death.
According to General Yusuf Rageh, commander of the Somali infantry regiments, the assailants launched vehicle bombs before gunmen surged forward, but were ultimately defeated by the army's defenses.
"After the blasts they tried to attack the army defences but were defeated. We are still pursuing them. Some soldiers sustained minor injuries from blast shrapnel but nothing major," General Rageh told reporters in Awdheegle.
Al-Shabaab, a jihadist group that controls swathes of Somali countryside, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating they launched two car bombs and "killed many soldiers".
However, it is not unusual for the government and the Shabaab to offer differing accounts of casualties from attacks.
Witnesses in Awdheegle reported hearing blasts and heavy gunfire, with one resident describing the explosions as "huge".
Another resident, Mohamed Isak, said the firefight lasted over an hour after the initial explosions, leaving many trapped inside their homes.
A journalist embedded with the army also died in the attack, the Federation of Somali Journalists confirmed, making him the third journalist to be killed in Somalia this year.
The attack is the latest in a long line of bombings and assaults claimed by the Shabaab, which has fought for over a decade to topple the Somali government.
