SNA Troops Kill At Least 50 Al Shabaab Militants in Fierce Battle near Hudur Town as Militants Increase Attacks

Highlights

At least 50 militants were killed in a heavy fighting between the AMISOM backed Somali Natinal Army and Al shabaab militants in Hudur town.

The Al Shabaab militants have in the recent past increased their attacks in towns and villages in Somalia, exposing themselves  to troops who continue to kill them in large numbers.

Summary and Analysis

On Saturday 31^st October 2015 heavily armed militants attacked villages in Hudur, the capital of Bakol region which are controlled by Somali military.

Confirming the Saturday incident, Hudur governor Mohamed Mo’allin said that the government troops in Garasweyne and Moragabey villages repulsed the attack, killing more than 50 Al shabaab fighters and seizing 40 AK-47 riffles.

The militant group in Somalia has increased their attacks in the country end of October and early November 2015 even as they lose much of their militant strength, capabilities and territories.

The attack in Hudur town came a day after the militants were thwarted as they attempted an attack on a government army base near Afmadow town on Friday 30th October 2015.

And on Sunday, Al Shabaab gunmen stormed a hotel in Mogadishu, killing scores of civilians and some government and media personnel.

The increase in attacks is the militant strategy to sway any anti-terror operations that would otherwise take advantage of the militants’ vulnerable stage as they encounter increased infighting and multiple alliances within the group.