... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...bad boys, the state media reported, citing unnamed military sources.
Diverging accounts of the incident emerged, with state broadcaster reporting that the Somali army backed by the US forces struck the al-Shabaab bases near Caad and Cadaley.
The two areas are situated in the southern Mudug region under Somalia’s Galmudug
...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth...
state.
r The government of Somalia has confirmed the death of at least 10 Al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia, the second airstrike in as many days by the US army which has heightened the fight against the group within the Horn of Africa nation.
At the border of Middle and Lower Jubba on Wednesday, officials said, an airstrike was initiated in the region by the US army in support of the Somali National Army (SNA) which has been coordinating a crackdown against the group in central and southern regions.
The airstrike, state media reports, disrupted a key Al-Shabaab meeting that was going on, killing another senior leader in the process. Both the US army and the government of Somalia are yet to reveal the name of the leader killed.
"Somali Army and US Air Force kill 10 Al-Shabab militants in joint operation near Lower/Middle Jubba border. The strike, second this week, disrupted a meeting and eliminated a key leader of the terrorist group," read the statement.