Al Shabaab militants once again struck an African Union (AU) base in south Somalia early on Tuesday.
Unconfirmed reports claim that dozens of AU soldiers were killed in the attack that the Islamist group has since claimed responsibility.
The al-Qaeda aligned militia group said their fighter rammed a car bomb into the base after which gun men packed the facility run by African Union for peace keeping mission purposes in Somalia, AMISOM.
According to the outlawed Islamist group, 50 African peacekeepers lost their lives in the attack on Janale base which lies about 90km south of the capital, Mogadishu. It has however in the past exaggerated the number of troops it has managed to kill in preceding attacks and officials have so far played down losses.
Local residents of the region have so far confirmed the attack even though AMISOM and government officials are yet to make any official comments on the same.
This latest assault highlights al Shabaab’s ability to launch strikes even though it has lost operating strong holds since a major military offensive against them began last year.
The militia group has also claimed responsibility for recent attacks in neighboring countries such as Kenya as punishment for sending troops to Somalia to take part in the AU peacekeeping mission.
The group is known to want to topple the Western-backed government and impose its own strict implementation of Islam on Somalia.
