Heavily armed al-Shabab fighters in pickup trucks moved into Somalia’s Mahaday district in the Middle Shabelle region early Saturday, killing two government soldiers before voluntarily withdrawing, residents and officials said.
The militants attacked about 4 a.m. local time, seizing a police station and administrative offices, residents said. The Mahaday district commissioner, Ahmed Husein, said officials had received word that militants were headed to the town, so they made a quick decision.
“We got intelligence tips from the local people about their attack, and we made a strategic withdrawal for the safety of the innocent civilians,” Husein said. “They briefly held the town and immediately withdrew once they realized that we would counterattack as the day wore on.”
Fearing reprisals, sources in the town who asked not to be named told VOA the two government soldiers and three militants were killed in a brief clashes at the town’s entry checkpoint.