Fresh clashes erupted Friday in the northern breakaway Somalia region of Puntland with Al-Qaida linked militants, leaving at least seven combatants dead and nine wounded, officials and witnesses said.
Fighting erupted when militants led by local warlord Mohamed Said Atom tried to recapture a military base they had lost to the Puntland forces in clashes on Wednesday near the Galgala mountains.
“The terrorists launched a hit and run attack on one of our bases near Galgala. They were defeated and four of their militants killed,” said Colonel Omar Abdulahi, a Puntland security official.
“Unfortunately we lost two soldiers and three others were injured.”