At least five soldiers in central Somalia were killed – including one senior official – and 10 wounded Tuesday in a fierce firefight with al-Shabaab terrorists, said local media reports.

The fighting broke out at the Galmudug state paramilitary forces base in the vicinity of Shebelow in the central region of Mudug after al-Shabaab fighters attacked the camp.

Maj. Mohamed Ali Salaad, the commander of Horseed battalion of Galmudug Darwish forces, was also killed in the fighting, according to Somali National Television.

Omar Mustaf, a local official in Galmudug, told Anadolu Agency over the phone that the Galmudug Darwish forces repulsed the al-Shabaab attack.

"There are casualties on the side of Galmudug forces but I can't confirm any numbers killed or injured in the fighting," he said.

He said al-Shabaab suffered huge casualties in the fighting, without giving details.

Shebelow, where the attack took place, is located on the outskirts of the town of Ba'adweyne, which the Somali national army backed by Galmudug state forces recently liberated from terrorist group al-Shabaab.

Al-Shabaab was behind a truck-bombing attack in October 2017 in the capital Mogadishu that took some 600 lives, the worst attack in the Horn of Africa country’s history./aa