Mogadishu, Somalia — Somali government said its troops backed by foreign partners killed at least 46 Al-Shabaab members in Lower Shabelle region during a joint military operation.

The operation was conducted at farming field in Faay Yusuf area, where the militants were planning an attack against Somali army in Barire, small town located about 60 kilometers South of Mogadishu.

NISA - national intelligence and security agency in it received a tip-off and intelligence information about the pending attack before launching the raid.

The operation was the latest in series of crackdown on Al-Shabaab in the volatile region, where Al-Shabaab has trained bases and often plans attacks in the capital.

Somali government is now working on a strategy to take over security responsibility from AU troops who began drawdown of 2,000 soldiers by this month.

The exit comes after 16 years of military operation by multinational forces from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti who are estimated 22,000 in number.

They helped the government regained control of large swathes of territory, including the capital since 2011 but failed to bring an end to the AlShabaab insurgency.

Somali president Hassan is now in US seeking support for the second phase of the military operation against Al-Shabaab which will see the involvement of Non-ATMIS troops from frontline states.