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Al-Shabaab Claims It Killed 321 Somali Soldiers Near Leego. The Government Has Given No Toll

Abstract Defence Mena cover: fighting at Leego, Somalia — Defence Mena illustration.

Al-Shabaab says it killed 321 Somali soldiers in an ambush between Leego and Jameeco on Monday 26 October, as a federal column heading for Buurhakaba moved along the Mogadishu–Baidoa road. The figure comes only from the group’s own statement. Somalia’s government had not given any casualty figure for the fighting, or answered the claim, by Tuesday morning, and no independent source has confirmed the toll.

What Al-Shabaab claims

In a statement carried by Somali outlets on Monday evening, the group’s military command said its fighters attacked a convoy near Jameeco, on the outskirts of Leego in Lower Shabelle, in a battle it said lasted more than three hours. The statement claims:

the convoy had about 2,000 soldiers and 110 combat vehicles;
321 soldiers were killed, more were wounded, and some were taken prisoner;
most of the convoy’s vehicles were captured, including armoured vehicles the group says Türkiye had supplied, along with technicals, supply trucks and weapons;
Turkish F-16s and drones tried to support the troops.

None of these points has been verified. Somali news site Dayniiile, reporting the statement, noted that there was no evidence for the claim and that the government had not commented. Al-Shabaab statements have often given casualty figures far higher than those later established. Images of burned vehicles are circulating online, but they show neither how many soldiers died nor when and where each photo was taken.

What the government has said

The Ministry of Defence’s only detailed statement on the Leego fighting dates from Saturday 24 October. That is the day the army launched what it calls Operation Banooda, meant to clear Al-Shabaab from South West State. According to state news agency SONNA, Danab commandos clashed on the outskirts of Leego with fighters trying to block the troops. The ministry said seven militants were killed, several more were wounded and weapons were seized. It gave no figure for army losses.

Kaab TV reported that the federal government said its troops had fought off Al-Shabaab fighters who tried to ambush the force moving toward Buurhakaba after a vehicle hit a roadside bomb, and that soldiers had displayed bodies they said were militants. The government has not published the number of soldiers killed or wounded in any of the clashes since 24 October.

A stalled advance on Buurhakaba

The operation is about more than Al-Shabaab. According to the Somali Guardian, about 2,000 troops with more than 200 vehicles left Baledogle airfield on Saturday to retake Buurhakaba and other Bay region towns. Forces loyal to Abdiaziz Laftagareen, the former South West State president, had recently seized those towns from the federal government. The Somali Digest reports that Buurhakaba was one of five Bay districts Laftagareen’s forces held by 17 October. Mogadishu has since frozen the assets of Laftagareen and nine others over alleged Al-Shabaab links, as Defence Mena reported.

Local media said the column stopped at Leego, about 50 km east of Buurhakaba, over fears that the road ahead had been mined. After Saturday’s fighting, Al-Shabaab-affiliated media claimed 10 soldiers were killed and four vehicles destroyed. The army said it had the upper hand. The Somali Guardian also reported that residents were told to leave Leego and warned the town could be hit by Turkish air strikes. On Monday, separate heavy fighting broke out near Baidoa between the army and Laftagareen’s forces, according to the same outlet.

Leego has a history. In June 2015 Al-Shabaab overran an African Union base there that was held by Burundian troops. The current African Union mission, AUSSOM, is short of money as troop contributors rotate units. Uganda, for example, has just sent in Battle Group 48.

Why the Turkish angle matters

Türkiye trains Somali army units, including the Gorgor brigades, at its TURKSOM base in Mogadishu and has supplied armoured vehicles and drone support to Somali forces. That makes captured Turkish-made vehicles a propaganda target. Whether any were actually lost on Monday has not been shown. For the wider picture of Turkish equipment in the region, see our overview of Turkish systems in African armed forces.

What is still unclear

How many Somali soldiers were killed, wounded or captured on 26 October. No official or independent figure exists yet.
How many vehicles were lost, and of what types.
Whether Turkish aircraft or drones took part, as Al-Shabaab claims.
Whether the column has resumed its advance toward Buurhakaba or pulled back toward Baledogle.

Defence Mena will update this article if the Ministry of Defence or independent sources give figures.

Sources

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