Security forces retook a key town in Somalia's central Mudug region from al-Shabab terrorists on Sunday, officials said.
"The Gorgor commandos of the national army today attacked al-Shabab terrorists in the Qodqod area of Mudug region, where the terrorists suffered casualties including deaths, injuries, and destruction," the Somali military said in a statement.
The town was recaptured by the Somali army alongside central State of Galmudug forces after fierce fighting with the al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists, forcing them to escape, according to Ibrahim Mohamud, a local official from where the operation took place.
He said some government soldiers were injured in the fighting.
"Galmudug security forces alongside with SNA (Somali National Army) have now fully retaken Amara town from al-Shabab militants after a planned offensive on Sunday morning," government spokesman Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu said on Twitter.
He said the town is completely under the control of the joint forces.
"Government soldiers are now heading to Sigro village controlled by the terror group," he added.
On Saturday, the Somali military and regional paramilitary forces recaptured from al-Shabab the small town of Ba'adweyne, also in the Mudug region.
Al-Shabab has been behind hundreds of terrorist attacks over the years, including a 2017 bombing in the capital Mogadishu that took some 600 lives, the worst attack in the Horn of Africa country's history.
