Al-Shabaab Attempts Siege of Somali Military Base

On  Monday, July 11th, a car packed with explosives rammed into a Somali army base located slightly southwest of the country’s capital. Following the explosion, al-Shabaab fighters stormed inside the Lanta-Buro military base. A statement from Major Ahmed Farah illustrated the scene as rampant with gunfire exchanges and lasting several hours.

According to the terrorist group as well as a statement from a Somali military officer, the assault took place in the Lower Shabelle region of the country, roughly 30 miles from Mogadishu, and managed to kill 10 soldiers and 12 jihadist fighters.

Spokesman for the terrorist organization Abdiasis Abu Musab said that 30 soldiers had been killed in the raid that lasted several hours before the group withdrew from the site.

Four years earlier to the day, on July 11th, 2012 the BBC reported on the success of the Somali government in ousting al-Shabaab soldiers from the Lanto-Buro base. During the reporting, the British media outlet claimed that the Lanto-Buro base seizure was a major victory for the Somali military and its government. The article even discussed the diminished presence of al-Shabaab in Somalia and its other regional African neighbors as the country and allied forces were able to re-secure bases from al-Shabaab.

The return of al-Shabaab to the base indicates resurgence in their military capacity to seize and retain military positions in Somalia, especially in the Lower Shabelle region, a region well known for its Shabaab training facilities.

One day prior to the military base assault, over 100 al-Shabaab fighters raided a police station in northeastern Kenya. The raid left one officer wounded and allowed the terrorist group to supply itself with arms and ammunition. Among the military equipment taken, a police source stated that 10,000 rounds of ammunition and 13 AK-47 assault rifles were stolen, along with police uniforms and other items.

Previous to both of these occurrences, the terror group claimed responsibility for the bombing of several resort hotels in the Somali capital of Mogadishu during the early summer of 2016. Such attacks on tourist sites are common with the al-Qaeda affiliated group; however, the recent military base assault could be indicative of a more aggressive al-Shabaab force that is seeking to take territorial control over important military outposts.

This strategy of direct attacks on military forces in Somalia is a strategy that has seldom been seen in 2016, as the group favors the approach of assaulting relatively unarmed civilians and tourist sites. Ultimately, the attack on Lanto-Buro military base appears to be part of the group’s larger plan to establish and retain territorial control with hopes of creating an Islamist government.