MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - At least 21 people, mostly militants, were killed as heavily armed pro-government troops attacked the central Somali town of Bulobarde on Thursday, AFP reported, quoting locals.
The town, 200 km (120 miles) north of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, was a home to insurgents of the Shebab, an Al Qaeda-inspired organization.
"The fighting has stopped for now but the warring sides are still facing off in one neighborhood," local resident Abdurahman Ali told the agency, adding that he had personally seen the bodies of 18 fighters.
Colonel Adan Yusuf Mohamed, Somali government military leader in the region, said "the terrorists have suffered great losses in the battle," with 21 dead counted.
The latest attack came amid a vast counter-offensive against Shebab strongholds in central and southern Somalia. Residents said the fighting was the heaviest they had seen in years, and that both sides used heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons.
Somalia has been without an effective government since the Revolutionary Socialist Party was overthrown in 1991. The internationally recognized federal government controls only the capital city of Mogadishu and part of central Somalia. Other Somali areas are self-governing or controlled by unrecognized state formations.
