MOGADISHU, Somalia — Al-Shabab overran an African Union base in southern Somalia early Tuesday, a Somali military official said, in the latest display of the Islamic extremists’ capacity to hit back amid a prolonged offensive against them.
The attack in the small farming town of Janale started with a suicide car bombing at the base’s gate, followed by a firefight which lasted more than an hour, said Col. Ahmed Hassan.
The African Union force in Somalia, known by its acronym as AMISOM, insisted on Twitter soon after the attack that it was still in control of the base but later issued a statement saying the troops “undertook a tactical withdrawal” and then returned to the base.
“Given the complex nature of the attack, AMISOM is currently verifying the number of casualties and extent of the damage,” the statement said.