MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia said on Thursday its army and allied clan militias have fought off coordinated raids on villages by the Islamist al Shabaab armed group in the country's south, killing more than 130 attackers.
The al Qaeda-linked militant group has conducted a bloody insurgency in southern and central Somalia since 2007, killing thousands of people in a campaign that has been marked by deadly bombings in the capital Mogadishu.
Al Shabaab attacked four villages in the Middle Shabelle region with vehicles laden with explosives on Thursday morning, and briefly captured two of them before being repulsed in heavy fighting, two local residents and a defence ministry spokesperson said.
"The heroes of the national army and the local people killed more than 130 (al Shabaab fighters) in the operation to defeat the enemy," the information ministry said in a statement.
"They attacked all these areas from many directions with mortars, car bombs and gunfire," said local elder Nur Ibrahim in the village of Ali Ahmed, adding that he saw the bodies of around 20 attackers, as well as seven soldiers and clan fighters.
Al Shabaab frequently attacks military outposts and state targets as part of a mission to overturn Somalia's government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
(Reporting by Feisal Omar and Abdi Sheikh; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
