A staged helicopter raid by an unknown contingent of Special Forces Commandos has reportedly left about 11 Al Shabaab fighters dead and scores wounded.
Reports indicate that two helicopters on Tuesday night dropped soldiers at Al Shabaab-controlled area of Awdhegele in Southern Somalia, who inflicted casualties while leaving no trace of their identity.
"There was an operation by Special Forces late last night around Awdhegele town. We have reports Shabaab militants suffered casualties,” local District Commissioner Mohamed Aweys told reporters.
According to area authorities, residents on Wednesday woke up to streets filled with bodies of the militants slain in the night.
The militia group, however, refuted casualty claims, saying that they fought them off and that the commandos did not achieve their mission.
“Armed forces on two military helicopters raided Awdhegele town last night – but they have lost and returned without achieving their objective,” Shabaab spokesman Sheik Abduasiz Abu Musab said, on the insurgent’s Radio Andalus.
Al Shabaab admitted that they were not aware of the troops' country of origin as they spoke a foreign language.
The raid comes a few days after US Pentagon announced that its airstrikes had killed over 150 Shabaab graduates at Raso training camp.
A few week ago Kenya's Special Forces also staged an aerial and ground attack that neutralised Al Shabaab Deputy leader and Intelligence Chief together with a dozen middle level commanders.
Special forces conduct such missions when rescuing their nationals as witnessed in 2012 when US Seal Team freed two aid workers held for three months, in a similar helicopter offensive.
Read also: How Kenya's Special Forces Killed Al Shabaab Commander
