The attack was perpetrated in the morning in Mahas, a town in Hiran province where a massive offensive against the Shabab began a few months ago, led by clan militias and the Somali army.

This new attack shows that the insurgents, who have been losing ground in this region, are still capable of launching deadly attacks.

” Nineteen people, including members of the security forces and civilians, died in the blasts. »

The Terrorists [Shabab] two cars blew up near a military base in Mahasabout 300 kilometers from the capital Mogadishu, he said.

A previous toll reported nine deaths.

About 20 people died in the double blast, mostly civilians, but such attacks will never deter our efforts to eliminate them.he saidAFP a local clan chief, Abdikarim Hassan.

A witness, Adan Hassan, he said saw the bodies of nine civilians, including women and children. It was a terrible attackhe said.

About 50 people were also injured in the blasts, according to another clan leader, Mohamud Suleyman.

Claimed by the Shabab

The Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack and said they aimed military base.

Since 2007 they have been fighting with al-Qaeda allies against the German government with the support of the international community. They were expelled from the country’s main cities in 2011-2012 and remain firmly established in large rural areas.

In early July, clans in Hiran province rebelled against Islamist insurgents.

The government of Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud, which promised a Total war against the Islamist group, which in September sent the army – including special forces – to support these so-called militias Macawisley.

This offensive, supported by African Union forces in Somalia (Atmis) and American airstrikes, enabled the recapture of vast territories in two states in the center of the country, Hirshabelle – where Hiran Province is located – and Galmudug.

In particular, the government confirmed in early December that it had taken over Adan Yabal, an emblematic site in Hirshabelle held by the Shabab since 2016 and used as a training ground and an insurgent logistics center in the region.

But the Shabab continue to carry out bloody attacks in retaliation.

On October 29, two car bombs detonated within minutes in the capital Mogadishu, killing 121 and injuring 333 others in the deadliest attack in the Horn of Africa country in five years.

A triple attack in Beledweyne (centre), the capital of Hiran province, in early October also killed 30 people, including local officials, and at least 21 guests at a Mogadishu hotel had been killed earlier in August in a spectacular 30-hour attack.

The President announced that new contingents of Somali soldiers trained in Eritrea would soon be deployed in anti-Shabab operations.