Addis Ababa/Mogadishu (dpa) – Dozens of combatants, including Ethiopian forces, were believed to have died Saturday when militant Islamist group al-Shabab launched an attack on an Ethiopian base in southern Somalia, according to the warring parties. Militant Islamist group al-Shabab, which has been fighting to oust the internationally backed government for five years, said on its Twitter feed that it launched an attack on a base in Yurkud, near the border region with Ethiopia and Kenya. “Mujahideen field commanders in Yurkud confirm 74 Ethiopian soldiers killed & more than 100 injured in today's fierce battle,” the group said. Al-Shabab said that five of its own fighters were also killed and 15 injured in the battle. Diyad Abdi Kalil, a senior commander for pro-government forces, told dpa that 80 al-Shabab fighters were killed in the fierce battles, although he refused to discuss casualties on the government side. All combatants in Somalia tend to inflate the casualty figures, although residents told dpa they saw many dead bodies from both sides. In a separate incident, at least three people died and 40 were injured in a grenade attack at a busy bus station in Nairobi, the Kenyan Red Cross said Saturday. Police were quick to point the finger at al-Shabab, which has been blamed for previous grenade blasts in Kenya. Al-Shabab has been battling to oust Somalia's internationally backed government since early 2007, although it has begun to lose ground in recent months under pressure from Kenya, Ethiopia and African Union forces. These regional forces have moved to tackle the al-Qaeda-linked insurgents, fearing regional destabilization. Ethiopian forces have made major gains, taking the stronghold of Baidoa from al-Shabab, but the insurgents have been known to tactically withdraw from towns before striking back. It was Ethiopia's 2006 invasion to oust an Islamist regime that kicked off the insurgency, leading to Ethiopian forces pulling out two years later. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/ECihz Tags: Attack, Ethiopia, Shabab, Somalia Section: East Africa, Latest News
