MOGADISHU - At least 20 al-Shabaab militants were killed on Wednesday during fierce clashes with Ma'awisley clan militia in the El-Hareri area of Somalia's central Hiiraan region, local sources said.
The fighting broke out after al-Shabaab launched an explosive attack on Ma'awisley positions, followed by nearly two hours of close-range combat. The militants briefly seized El-Hareri, part of the Moqokori district, before the militia launched a counteroffensive and reclaimed control.
"Today, the Khawarij attacked us with two explosive-laden vehicles. The first was aimed at destroying the local water well, but we stopped it. The second is still in the area," a Ma'awisley officer told reporters.
The confrontation is the latest in a series of escalating engagements between community-based defence groups and the al-Qaeda-linked insurgents. The Ma'awisley, largely from the Hawadle clan, have increasingly taken up arms in support of government efforts to expel the group from central Somalia.
Al-Shabaab has waged a deadly insurgency for more than a decade, using asymmetric tactics to destabilise the country. Somali forces, backed by local militias and international partners, continue to intensify counterterrorism operations in rural and urban regions.
