Somali National Army (SNA) on Tuesday killed seven Al-Shabaab extremists in an operation in the central region of Hiran, a military commander said.

Mohamud Hassan Ibrahim, commander of SNA’s 22 Unit section 27, told reporters that government forces conducted an operation inflicting casualties on the militants.

The commander said the operation was a planned one, aiming at destroying the terrorist group.

The last incident came barely a day after Jubaland forces killed four Al-Shabaab extremists in an intense clash in Dhobley town in the country’s southern region of Lower Juba.

The Somali forces backed by African Union Mission in Somalia have intensified operations against Al-Shabaab extremists in central and southern regions, but the militants still hold swathes of rural areas in those regions conducting ambushes and planting land mines.