Special forces on Monday killed at least 10 Al-Shabaab militants who organised and coordinated a deadly attack at Ballidogle military airbase in Somalia, reports have indicated.
In a most shocking incident, the militants stormed the base which is used by United States in training Somali's Danab forces ahead of 2021 AMISOM exit.
The militants detonated explosions from two car bombs at Ballidogle airport in Lower Shabelle region, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) west of Mogadishu.
A local source reported hearing two explosions in the vicinity of the airport. A U.S. Africa Command statement said no U.S. or Somali forces were injured in the attack.
It said in response to the assault, the U.S Africa Command conducted two airstrikes and used small arms fire to target al-Shabab militants, killing 10 of them and destroying one vehicle involved in the attack.
The commander of Somali forces trained by the U.S. military in Somalia, Major Abdirahman Omar Jeeni-Qaar, said all of the al-Shabab attackers were killed.
"All the men they sent, none of them escaped," he said in an interview with VOA Somali.
He denied an Al-Shabaab claim that hundreds of soldiers were killed in the assault. Al-Shabaab had insisted that fighting was still going on.
Following the attack, Al-Shabaab issued a statement claiming responsibility for "storming" the base.
Somali national army radio, in a twitter post, said the militants detonated car bombs at the outer perimeter of the base. It said the Somali soldiers and their U.S. partners "repelled" the attack.
The U.S. Ambassador to Somalia condemned the attack and praised Somali security forces for their actions.
"We commend the Somali security forces who repelled the attack against the Somali National Army (SNA) Base in Baledogle, Lower Shabelle region," a statement said.
It was not the first time Al-Shabaab was attacking a military base. In 2016, they ran over a Kenyan military base in El Adde killing dozens of soldiers.
A year later, the militants also attacked Kulbiyow military base killing over 70 Kenyan soldiers. In return, security forces have killed hundreds of militants.