More than 100 people were feared dead amid heavy fighting Saturday between al-Shabaab insurgents and Somali government and Ethiopian army forces, following an assault on a military base in south-western Somalia, local media reported Saturday.The Somali website Shabelle news said fighting broke out at dawn near the village of Yurkut and lasted more than three hours. It quoted residents as saying that some 100 people from both sides had been killed, while dozens of others were injured.
Al-Shabaab, on its Twitter feed, said it had killed 74 soldiers, whilst lost five "martyrs" itself. The Somali government, meanwhile, said 48 militants had died. Al-Shabaab is an Islamist group linked to al Qaeda that has been fighting Somali government forces as it seeks to impose strict religious law on the country.