Al Shabab militants seized control of a military base in southern Jubbaland on Tuesday, according to a Somali officer and a local. The Al Shabab Islamist group had conceded losing the base to the army in January.
The military and affiliated clan-based militias, who launched a major offensive last year, have put Al Shabaab, an affiliate of al Qaeda, under intense pressure.
But the group has repeatedly demonstrated its capacity to respond with significant attacks.
The absence of fighting over the past week has fueled rumors in Somalia that the offensive is at a standstill.
The administration claimed that it was merely observing a lull before beginning the subsequent stage of operations.
Major Abdullahi Hussein reported from Kismayu that early in the morning, Al Shabaab used a car bomb and gunfire to attack the base in Janay Abdale, which is located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) to the west of the port city of Kismayu.
He claimed that the army had sent reinforcements and that al Shabaab had cut off communications in the region.
The Jubbaland government claimed that regional and national forces had dealt al Shabaab a “big blow,” but it made no further mention of the attack. Both sides’ preliminary casualty totals were unavailable.
Al Shabaab acknowledged that it was responsible for the assault.
“We control the base. We took all their weapons,” it said in a statement.
In January, Jubbaland-based troops took Janay Abdale from al Shabaab as part of an offensive that started in the country’s center and then progressed south.
