Somalia's regional forces in Galmudug State killed 17 al-Shabab militants who attempted to attack a local town early Friday, security officials said.
The security officials told the state-owned Somali National Television that the terrorists were killed after they attempted to capture Baxdo town in central Somalia.
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"The regional forces of Somalia's Galmudug State have repulsed an attack by al-Shabab on Baxdo town, killing 17 terrorists in the early hours of Friday," the television station reported.
The move comes amid intensified operations by Somali forces against al-Shabab militants in central and southern regions where the militants still hold swathes of rural areas conducting ambushes and planting land mines.