Somali security forces killed seven from Al Shabab in clashes in southern Somalia, officials said.

Ahmed Mohamud, a spokesman for the Kismayo-based Jubbaland state told reporters that the clashes started after the regional troops launched a surprise attack targeting Al Shabab leaders in Abdalla-Birole, a rebel-held town, 40km west of Kismayo town on Monday night.

The town has long served as launching pad for Al Shabab fighting allied Somali and African Union forces in the region.

 

No comment could be reached from Al Shabab on the development; however, the group which continues guerilla attacks across Somalia has a large presence in the region after their ouster from the port city of Kismayo, a major stronghold for the group from where they collected taxes from the port and business to fund its deadly insurgency in the horn of Africa nation.

 

Kenyan troops seized Kismayo town in 2012 after months of fighting that saw troops secured a large area between the town and the border. The capture of Kismayo dealt a major blow to the rebel group which has since seen its areas of control reduced to rural villages and small towns.

 

Security forces have been fighting to retake control of key towns and villages including Jilib town, one of the last key strongholds of Al Shabab, however, military officials attributed the region’s tough terrains to the slow of the military offensive in the reg