MOGADISHU, Somalia, March 2 (UPI) -- Somali and African Union forces have taken control of a base used by al-Shabaab forces outside of Mogadishu, an AU commander said.
The African Union Mission in Somalia said it launched an attack on the town of Maslah outside Mogadishu.
"This operation is necessary to consolidate the security of Mogadishu," AU commander Maj. Gen. Fred Mugisha was quoted by the BBC as saying.
The BBC notes two attack helicopters were used in the raid on an area AU forces believe was used as an execution site by the al-Qaida affiliated militant group. Two African troops were wounded in the offensive.
World leaders expressed optimism that Somalia was turning the corner after years of civil war during a one-day summit for the war-torn country last week in London. There hasn't been a functioning central government in Somalia since the 1990s, though the interim administration has made gains against al-Shabaab, which seeks and Islamic state in the country.
Al-Shabaab controls parts of the country. The BBC reported the militant group withdrew voluntarily from Maslah, about 3 miles north of the capital.
