Al-Shabaab militants storm Somali military base, five soldiers dead

A pre-dawn raid by the terrorist groupal-Shabaab on a military base in southern Somalia has left at least18 people dead, officials told dpa on Sunday."We have lost five soldiers in this terrorist attack. Our troops havealso killed 13 militants," Somali military official Mohamed Abdisaid.The incident was the latest in a series of insurgent attacks acrosssouth and central regions of the volatile East African country. Ittook place in the Lower Shabelle province, on the outskirts of theregional capital Marka.The attack started with a suicide car bombing at the entrance of themilitary base, Abdi said. A local government official, Abdullahi AliAhmed, told dpa by phone that the gun battle between the two sideshad lasted about two hours.Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. The group said ithad killed more than 20 soldiers and captured the base briefly,looting military items and ammunition. No independent sources wereavailable to verify these claims.Speaking to local media in the capital Mogadishu, army chief OdowaaYusuf Rage confirmed the morning assault, but said his troopsoverpowered and repelled the militants, killing several of them.Al-Shabaab, which is affiliated with the international al-Qaedaterrorist network, regularly launches attacks within Somalia.