by Ingati, Mangera and Abdi
MOGADISHU, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- At least 23 people including seven Somali National Army (SNA) soldiers were injured following a fierce gun battle with Al-Shabaab militants in Bulla Hawa, a Somali town near the Kenyan border, officials said on Monday.
Kenya's North Eastern regional coordinator Mohamud Saleh said the injured are hospitalized in Kenya's Mandera County after an overnight fierce fighting with the militants who overran a military base in Bulla Hawa town.
"Some were injured when they arrived at the border. They came with their equipment and vehicles before they were disarmed and processed," Saleh said.
He said more than 180 SNA solders escaped to Mandera after Al-Shabaab militants overran their camp at around 5 a.m. on Monday.
Residents told Xinhua the restive Mandera town has been deserted as businesses as well as schools remained closed for further gun fight between Kenyan security forces and the militants who are perusing the fleeing SNA.
SNA officers at the Mandera police station could not confirm the death toll in the dawn attack as they ran for safety in Kenya.
Bulla Hawa is just about two kilometers away from Mandera town in northeast Kenya and there were fears of spillover of the fighting between the Somali army and the terrorists who briefly took over. The border towns are separated by a strip of shops which meet at some point.
The northeastern Kenyan border town has been a soft target of the militants due to its close proximity to the Somalia border.
At the Bluelight Nursing Home in Mandera town 16 civilians and 7 soldiers of the SNA are being treated with more expected at the private hospital.
This came as Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) came to the help of the SNA in Bulla Hawa by bombing various positions that Al-Shabaab militants had taken over.
Witnesses said the militants withdrew and escaped amid heavy bombardment from the KDF choppers that hovered there minutes after the attack.
Saleh said the escaping soldiers were held at a facility in the town after being disarmed, noting that those with injuries were taken to hospitals in the area.
He said the soldiers would be taken back to their town because the terrorists who overran their base had escaped.
Mandera County Commissioner Fredrick Shisia said more security personnel had been deployed to secure the area but could not confirm if there were casualties so far.
Locals in Mandera and Bulla Hawa said they could hear explosions and gunshots from the Somalia side with many troops running.
Bulla Hawa residents said the militants launched two attacks with the first assault targeting Somali military base outside Bulla Hawa while the second on police station.
The residents said the militants detonated suicide car bombs on both targets amid fierce fighting between then insurgents and the Somalia army.
Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda allied group, said their forces are now controlling Bulla Hawa town after killing 24 Jubaland soldiers. The militant group frequently overstates the death toll from its attacks.
