Sabiid & Caanoole, Somalia — Fierce fighting broke out early Friday in the Sabiid and Caanoole area of southern Somalia's Lower Shabelle region after Al-Shabaab militants launched a coordinated assault on military positions held by Somali government forces and Ugandan troops serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
Local residents reported that the attack began with a series of powerful explosions, the blasts echoing across nearby villages before gunfire erupted between the two sides.
"Heavy clashes followed the blasts, and both sides are still exchanging fire," one resident told Radio Shabelle by phone, requesting anonymity for security reasons.
Preliminary reports suggest casualties on both sides, but the number of dead or wounded remains unconfirmed as fighting continued for several hours.
Sources on the ground described the confrontation as one of the most intense in the area since government and ATMIS forces seized control of Sabiid and Caanoole from Al-Shabaab in June.
As of now, neither Somali federal authorities nor local officials in Lower Shabelle had issued a statement regarding the incident.
Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group, frequently targets military bases and government positions across Somalia in its insurgency aimed at toppling the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu.
