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the personification of Somali state failure...after an attack on a military base in Afgoye town located some 30Km south of the somali capital, Mogadishu on Monday night.
The military remained in control of a town following a fierce shootout with al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab myrmidons, according to locals.
Military officials said Al-Shabaab fighters stormed the military base there but were later driven out by the army after heavy fighting.
"We were awoken by an ambush attack by Al-Shabaab and a then fierce battle followed," resident Mohammed Abdullahi told Radio Shabelle from the town.
He added that Afgoye is calm and government forces fully control.
Al-Shabaab, however, claimed it had killed several soldiers in the fighting and left the town after seizing military equipment and weapons.
The development came as Somali government says is planning an offensive aimed at flushing out Al-Shabaab from its remaining pockets in the south and central Somalia.