Al-Shabab attack on Somalia military base kills at least five

MOGADISHU, Somalia, July 11 (UPI) -- Al-Shabab militants killed at least five Somali soldiers at a military base 25 miles from Mogadishu, the Somali capital, local government officials said Monday.

An overnight raid on the facility in the village of Lanta Buuro began with an explosive-laden vehicle driven through the front gates, Ibraahim Aadan Najah, governor of Lower Shabelle province, said.

Members of the al-Shabab entered the camp on foot, stole weapons and vehicles and later told Radio Andulus, a local broadcaster supportive of the militant group, it killed 30 Somali soldiers.

Al-Shabab's insurgency, in support of establishing a government strictly adhering to Islamic law, began in Somalia in 2006. It held Mogadishu until it was forced from the city in 2011 by the army and a military force from the African Union. The city has had regular attacks, including suicide bombings, since.