Hormuud Telecom, the leading telecommunications provider in Somalia has confirmed that members of the militant group al-Shabab have targeted telecommunications masts in Galgadud.
The company founded in Mogadishu has provided Somali citizens and businesses for over 20 years with reliable internet, calls, and mobile money services at home and abroad.
The company said a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) destroyed the center and tower on Monday.
Almost 14,000 people lost access to the company’s services including EVC Plus, the only payment method in the area.
It vowed to rebuild the center and restore telecommunication services in the area.
On Monday, al-Shabab’s military wing said in a statement published by one of the websites used by the group that it had attacked government forces in Qaayib that morning.
The statement also said the attack started with a suicide bombing that was followed by an armed infantry attack on the military camp.
The group claimed it killed 37 people, including three officers, a figure that has not been independently verified.
Somali government officials confirmed that the militants used a truck bomb, adding that troops defeated the militants who attacked the Qaayib base.
The militants were recently liberated from the town by a combination of local organized armed militia fighting alongside the Somali Government Security Forces.
The successful offensive follows recents military advancements by the Somali Army in pursuit of al-Shabab to remove them from parts of central and southern Somalia.
The liberation of the latest Town came just a day after Somalia’s government said the military forced al-Shabab out of 30 villages in clashes this month that killed more than 200 militants. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud responded to the deadly siege by announcing a “total war†against the militants.
The Somali Government has issued an urgent plea for international help for wounded victims of devastating car bombings at the weekend that claimed the lives of 100 people. The attack tests the government’s ability to secure the conflict-weary nation, including the capital of nearly 2.5 million people.
Al-Shabaab fighters have stepped up their attacks in Somalia since Mohamud was elected in May and vowed an “all-out-war†on the Islamists.
