Dozens of Al-Shabaab militants were on Sunday, killed when two factions of the group engaged in a fierce battle in the mountains of Somalia in what what the Somali government say was a fight for territorial supremacy.
In a statement by a government spokesperson, the bloody battle took place in the disputed Puntland state which is being claimed by breakaway Somaliland.
Officials said the clashes in the region nestled in eastern Somalia between the group with one affiliated to the Al-Qaeda terror group and those affiliated to the against Islamic State (IS), began on Saturday night and continued till early Sunday.
“The confrontations occurred at wadi (dry river beds) known as Dadamale and Qura’da in location known as Ja’ayl in Bari region in the Puntland State of Somalia, over 1500 km northeast of Mogadishu,” the government spokesman said.
He added that both the Al-Qaeda faction of Al-Shabaab and the ISIS faction operate in the wider sub-region known as Balli Dhidin with Qandala district in Bari region, particularly between Qandala and Bosaso, the main port town and commercial capital of Puntland.
“The areas where the bulk of the confrontation had taken place is characterised by dry river beds, torrents with water streams and mountainous territories where the militants of both extremist groups have coexisted,” he added.
The District Commissioner for Qandala, Ahmed Yusuf, who confirmed the clashes to the media, on Monday, said:
“The two extremist groups have coexisted in the area, but it seems they are fighting for territorial control.”
“We have received reports from local dwellers of the mountainous areas who noticed the fighting,” Yusuf said.
According to local media, loyalists of Al-Shabaab founder, Sheikh Abdulkadir Mumin, split from the group in 2015, declaring loyalty to IS than led by Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and since then, the two groups have constantly clashed and have separately challenged the Puntland administration and any presence of forces from the Somali National Army.