The Al-Qaeda aligned Al-Shabaab issued another claim that its fighters conduct a deadly mortar assault on El Salini SNA Forward Operating Base, near Marka town, about 91 kilometers southwest of the capital, Mogadishu.
In an online statement, the Islamic militant group claimed to have fired a total of 70 mortar rounds on El Salini SNA base, killing at least seven soldiers.
Corresponding reports from locals confirmed of the attack saying plume of smoke could be seen rising above the base, shortly after the shelling.
The Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia on Sunday 22nd September 2019 at around 5:30 am, local time, Al-Shabaab militants using Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED) had attacked the same SNA Forward Operating Base (FOB) in El Salini village of Lower Shabelle.
In a revised claim on its affiliate media, Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al-Shabaab’s military operations spokesman, claimed that the group’s fighters had overrun an ‘apostate’ military base in El Salini vilage killing 23 government soldiers.
Despite the risks of making online statements, such as enabling governments to locate terror group leaders, Al-Shabaab through its pro-websites and media channels continues to communicate regularly with video and audio messages which are posted on different channels and disseminated on the internet to spread its perceived successes in given theater of operations, further their goals besides boosting morale of their foot soldiers and attracting potential recruits.
