Al-Shabaab militants storm Ethiopian army base in Somalia using suicide car bomb

Al-Shabaab militants stormed an army base used by Ethiopian troops in Halgan town, central Somalia, after ramming the entrance with a car bomb. The incident occurred on Thursday (9 June) at 3am BST.

The Somalia-based terror outfit's spokesperson, Abdiasis Abu Musab said: "Our fighters stormed the Halgan base of Amisom [African Union's Amisom force]. It was a huge blast. It destroyed the gate and parts of the base."

He also said that the militants had used a suicide car bomber and then more fighters entered the Ethiopian base. Confirming the incident, locals said that they heard a huge blast at the base, followed by a heavy exchange of gunfire between the two groups, which lasted for almost an hour.

However, the African Union's Amisom force has not commented on the incident yet. Moreover, it is not clear as to how many people were killed in the attack.

There has been a rise in such attacks by al-Shabaab in recent times. Earlier this month, the militants stormed Hotel Ambassador in Somalia using a suicide car bomb. At least 16 people were killed in the incident, including two MPs. About 55 people were also injured in the attack.

On 8 June, a US Africa Command assessment of two recent strikes in Somalia confirmed that two top commanders of the terror group were killed. The airstrikes were carried out on 27 May, in south-central Somalia wherein Abdullahi Haji Da'ud, a senior military commander for the al-Qaida-linked group was killed.