MOGADISHU, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab attacked a military base of the Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in the central town of Halgan early Thursday, locals witnessed.
The residents said a car driven by a suicide bomber exploded at the main entrance of the base run by Ethiopian troops serving with AMISOM and the two sides exchanged fire.
Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its fighters have killed at least 60 Ethiopian soldiers at the military base.
AMISOM has denied the Al-Shabaab claim, saying its forces had driven back the attackers and were chasing them who were "on the run."
A cache of weapons has been captured as the joint forces of AMISOM and Somalia overpowered the attackers, it said.
AMISOM, comprising troops from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, has been helping the Somali government battle Al-Shabaab for years, driving the militants to rural areas in southern Somalia, but the group still stages periodic attacks in the country.
