Somali warplanes strike al-Shabaab

MOGADISHU – War planes bombed a town and suspected al-Shabaab militant base in southern Somalia Tuesday for the second time in three days, causing several casualties including civilians, witnesses said.

Sources in Jilib in Somalia’s Middle Juba region said four civilians were wounded after military jets dropped bombs on an al-Shabaab militant base.

“We heard very big explosions as military jets flew over the town. Two of the bombs landed near Faragurow village leaving four civilians wounded but we don’t know about other casualties they may have caused,” said a local resident, Moalim Hassan.

Idle Ahmed, another resident, said al-Shabaab militant fighters riding on pick-up trucks were seen rushing to the scene and stopped ordinary civilians from approaching.

“The jets targeted an al-Shabaab military base but we don’t know their casualties,” he said.

The airstrikes on the town of Jilib are understood to be part of the offensive by the 22,000-strong UN-backed African Union force, who in March launched a fresh bid to wrest remaining towns from the al-Qaeda-linked Islamists.

The impoverished town is a key al-Shabaab hub in southern Somalia’s Middle Juba region, some 320 kilometres (200 miles) southwest of Mogadishu.

It was not immediately clear where the jets were from, but Kenya is part of the AU force and has used its airplanes to strike al-Shabaab bases before.

Hardline al-Shabaab insurgents once controlled most of southern and central Somalia.

After withdrawing from fixed positions in the capital Mogadishu nearly three years ago, they have lost most large towns to the AU and government soldiers. However, they still regularly launch guerrilla raids.

-Sapa