(Adds attack in capital Mogadishu)
By Feisal Omar and Abdi Sheikh
MOGADISHU May 23 (Reuters) - Fighting in south Somalia between al Shabaab militants and government forces killed at least 24 people, while a rebel attack in the capital killed three Transport Ministry workers, officials and the group said on Saturday.
Al Shabaab launched an attack on government troops late on Friday in the Awdigle district and Mubarak village in the Lower Shabelle region, south of the capital Mogadishu. Clashes lasted until early Saturday and killed at least two dozen people, residents said.
In a gun attack in the capital, the group, which wants to topple the Western-backed government, killed three people working for the Transport Ministry, police said.
Al Shabaab said it launched the raid in south Somalia and was behind the Mogadishu assault. "We shall continue killing the enemies," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's military operations spokesman, told Reuters.
The African Union's AMISOM peacekeeping force and Somali soldiers pushed al Shabaab into smaller pockets of territory during an offensive launched last year, but the group still launches regular bomb and gun attacks.
"We did not sleep last night because they exchanged shells and gunfire throughout the night," resident Afrah Hussein told Reuters from Awdigle district, adding he had counted 17 dead but could not say if they were soldiers or militants.
In Mubarak, a resident saw seven killed from both sides.
Al Shabaab said 25 soldiers were killed in the south. Lower Shabelle Governor Abdikadir Mohamed Sidi told Reuters at least 40 rebels died, alongside Colonel Dahir Shekaal, the commander of government forces in Awdigle.
Al Shabaab and officials often given conflicting figures.
In the attack in Mogadishu, police said the three Transport Ministry workers were killed when gunmen blocked their car and sprayed them with bullets.
Separately, two lawmakers were wounded in Mogadishu when gunmen used a similar tactic. Al Shabaab could not be reached for comment on that assault.
Although diplomats say al Shabaab has been pushed mainly into areas in the Galgala hills in the north and Juba Valley in the south, the group has continued to launch strikes in the capital Mogadishu and on Somali and AMISOM forces. (Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Al Shabaab attacks soldiers in south Somalia, two dozen dead
By Feisal Omar and Abdi Sheikh
MOGADISHU May 23 (Reuters) - At least 24 people were killed in southern Somalia after fighting between al Shabaab Islamist militants and government forces, residents and the rebel group said on Saturday.
Al Shabaab launched an attack on government troops on Friday evening in the Awdigle district and Mubarak village in the Lower Shabelle region, south of the capital. Clashes lasted until Saturday morning, residents said.
Rebels and government troops, which control the two places, also fought there last week.
The African Union's AMISOM peacekeeping force and Somali soldiers have pushed al Shabaab, which wants to topple the Western-backed government, into smaller pockets of territory, but the group still launches regular attacks from those areas.
"We did not sleep last night because they exchanged shells and gunfire throughout the night," resident Afrah Hussein told Reuters from Awdigle district, adding he had counted 17 dead but could not say if they were soldiers or militants.
Hassan Kassim, a resident in Mubarak village, said he saw seven killed from both sides.
Al Shabaab's military operations spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab, told Reuters the group's fighters had killed 25 soldiers, 18 in Awdigle and seven in Mubarak. He did not mention any al Shabaab dead.
Abdikadir Mohamed Sidi, the governor of Lower Shabelle region, told Reuters that at least 40 rebels were killed but said the commander of government forces in Awdigle, Colonel Dahir Shekaal, also died.
Al Shabaab and officials often given conflicting death tolls.
Although diplomats say al Shabaab has been pushed mainly into areas in the Galgala hills in the north and Juba Valley in south, the group has continued to launch strikes on the capital Mogadishu, as well as attack Somali and AMISOM forces. (Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Mark Potter)
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