Somali military forces take part in their 58th anniversary in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, April 12, 2018. The Somali National Army (SNA) on Thursday marked the 58th anniversary of their foundation. The SNA was established on 12th April 1960 after Somalia gained independence from Italian and British colonists. (Xinhua/Faisal Isse)
MOGADISHU, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Somalia National Army (SNA) said Tuesday its forces killed 30 al-Shabab militants in security operation in Hiiraan region of central Somalia.
Army Spokesperson in Hiiraan region, Mohamed Noor Agajof said the SNA forces also recovered military equipment from the insurgents following a fierce gunfight with the terrorist group.
"We killed about 30 al-Shabab fighters and our forces captured areas from al-Shabab." Agajof said, "the fighting occurred in areas along the road linking Beledweyne town to Mataban and Mahas."
"We also recovered weapons and liberated other key locations from the terrorists," he added without stating there number of casualties on the SNA or civilians during the military operations in the central region.
The Somali security forces backed by African Union peacekeeping forces have ramped up security operations to flush out al-Shabab fighters from the Horn of Africa nation.
There was no immediate comment from the terrorist group on the latest military onslaught in Hiiraan region.
The latest developments comes after Somali National Army has teamed up with local security forces for joint security operations against the militant group blamed for staging near daily attacks on government installations and AU mission bases including other public places.