A Somali military convoy struck a roadside bomb while traveling on the volatile road linking the district of Balcad and village of Qalimow in the Middle Shabelle province of Somalia.
Local contacts reveal the blast from the roadside bomb was followed by a deadly ambush, as the Al Shabaab fighters laid siege to the convoy of government troops.
At least three government troops are confirmed to have been killed in the blast and the subsequent ambush. The militant group Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released online via the pro militant website dubbed Somali Memo.
However security sources with intricate knowledge on the matter informed Halgan Media that the troops where transporting supplies to foreign forces prior to the attack. When asked for more details, it was revealed that the government troops departed Mogadishu and where in route to the city of Jowhar, which is situated 90 kilometers away.
The troops where escorting supplies to Foreign troops hailing from Burundi that maintain a military base in the city of Jowhar but there movement was picked up by Al Shabaab, while traveling near the village of Qalimow, which later resulted in a roadside bomb attack and a deadly ambush.
Somali Government troops routinely escort supplies by land throughout the country, while the Foreign forces remain hesitant to travel long distances by road out of fear from insurgent attacks, as seen with today’s latest incident.
As of now, the Somali government, AU and the Burundian military officials have not addressed the latest encounter.
Burundi has roughly 5,000 troops deployed in Somalia and is one of the several African nations contributing boots to Somalia under the guise of America’s war on terror.
Halgan Media Service Desk.
