At least 11 Somali regional and federal government forces were killed in fierce fighting on Wednesday in the south of the country, officials said.

The fighting occurred in the vicinity of Wayaanta, about 60 kilometers southwest of Kismayo, Jubaland state, after the government forces attacked a suspected gathering spot for the al-Shabab militants.

Three officials with direct knowledge of the fighting who requested not to be identified because they are not allowed to speak with media told VOA Horn of Africa that 11 regional and government soldiers were killed, and more than 20 others injured.

One of the officials claimed more than 20 al-Shabab militants also were killed in the encounter.

An operation by the Somali forces last year in the same vicinity killed an al-Shabab commander who was said to be a deputy emir of the area, according to the regional officials.

During last year’s operation, the U.S. military conducted a “collective self-defense” airstrike against al-Shabab militants in the Wayaanta area, killing three fighters.

Al-Shabab has been fighting successive Somali governments since 2006. The group controls large countryside areas in south-central Somalia. After the president of Somalia came to power in May 2022, self-organized local fighters supported by federal forces removed al-Shabab from vast areas in the central regions.

Somalia’s intelligence and security agency last Sunday reported that as many as 27 al-Shabab militants were killed during a 12-hour-long operation in the vicinity of Yaaqle, about 50 kilometers north of Mogadishu in the Middle Shabelle region.

In a statement, the agency said the targeted operation was carried out at a time when the militants were preparing to harm the public. Vehicles and other equipment also were destroyed during the “successful” operation, the statement said.

Despite the losses of men and territory, the group remains a threat to Somali and African Union forces, carrying out deadly raids.

On the day Somalia intelligence reported the operation, two African Union soldiers were killed and a third was injured by an al-Shabab mortar attack Sunday on their base inside the perimeters of Mogadishu’s international airport.

The group fired four rounds of a 107mm rocket during daylight.