Troops kill 7 Daesh-linked militants in northern Somalia

Somali soldiers patrol in Afgooye, about 30 kilometers south of the capital, Mogadishu, October 19, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Pro-government forces in Somalia have killed seven militants from a faction loyal to the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the northern parts of the African country.

Troops from Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region killed the militants on Saturday as they were advancing toward the port town of Qandala, which has been in the grip of the faction since last month.

According to Captain Mohamed Saiid, the head of a Puntland military unit, militants carried out an attack in the village of Bashaashin, some 34 kilometers from Qandala. He added that Somali soldiers seized the militants’ weapons and took full control of the village.

Saiid further said that Daesh-affiliated militants “retreated to a hill outside the village.” He added that the troops would keep on pursuing the militants till they are eliminated them from Qandala.

The group is thought to be led by Abdiqadir Mumin, who broke away from the much larger al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab Takfiri terrorist group last year and pledged allegiance to Daesh.

The faction, however, has no known operational links to Daesh terrorists in Syria and Iraq, and Qandala is the first town that came under their control.

Somalia has been the scene of deadly clashes between government forces and al-Shabab militants since 2006. Although they have been pushed out of the capital, Mogadishu, and other major cities by the government and African Union troops, they continue to carry out incursions into the capital.

In addition, the country has not seen a powerful central government since the former dictator, Mohamed Siad Barre, was toppled by warlords in 1991. Since 2007, some 22,000 peacekeepers have been deployed in Somalia in the multi-national African Union force to aid the government in fighting militancy.

Clashes between rival factions as well as famine and disease have claimed the lives of over one million people in the past two decades. Some 1.4 million people are internally displaced in Somalia, over 300,000 of whom have taken refuge in the capital.