07 September 2016•Update: 17 September 2016
By Mohamed Adam
MOGADIHSU, Somalia
At least eight people were killed Wednesday in fighting between al-Shabaab militants and Somali forces.
The fighting took place in the Budbud village area of the central Galguduud region.
A Somali National Army (SNA) commander told Anadolu Agency that African Union-backed forces killed eight al-Shabaab fighters after the militants attacked a SNA base in the village.
The military said it recovered grenades and an artillery gun from the militant group.
Al-Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping forces in 2011 but has remained in Somalia, launching frequent attacks.
It claimed responsibility for an Aug. 30 hotel car bombing outside Somalia’s presidential palace which killed at least 15 people and injured over 22.
The U.S. said it conducted two strikes in southern Somalia earlier this week which killed four al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants, an American military spokeswoman said Wednesday
The latest strikes took place Monday in the Torotorow area in southern Somalia's Lower Shebelle region.
