Heavily armed al-Shabab extremists have stormed a military base in Somalia’s semiautonomous state of Puntland, killing close to 70 people, officials said on Thursday.
Officials called it the region’s deadliest attack in years, highlighting the twin challenges facing security forces from the Al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab and the growing presence of fighters linked to the ISIS group.
The attack began with a blast at the remote Af-Urur camp, roughly 100 kilometres west of the commercial hub of Bossaso, before the extremists overran the base and killed soldiers at close range, said Ahmed Mohamed, a senior military official.
Close to 70 people were killed, though an exact death toll was not yet available, Mohamed said.