Six African Union soldiers have been killed in two separate ambushes by al-Shabab militants in southern Somalia in the last 24 hours.
AMISOM said three Burundian soldiers were killed on Sunday by al-Shabab militants who attacked their convoy in the town of Leego in Lower Shabelle region. Several other soldiers were wounded. An al-Shabab spokesman said five soldiers were killed.
The governor of Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region, Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur "Siidi" told VOA Somali at least 11 al-Shabab militants were killed during the exchange of heavy fire.
On Saturday, al-Shabab militants ambushed a Kenyan convoy, killing three Kenyan soldiers and wounding eight others in southern Somalia.
A Kenyan military official told reporters the convoy was attacked in the Delbio area of Lower Jubba region while on a route patrol. The official said injured were driven to Kenya-Somalia border and then airlifted to Nairobi.
Last week, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the bombing an assault that left 18 people dead at the Higher Education Ministry in Mogadishu. Somali officials say eight civilians were killed during the incident, along with seven attackers, two Somali security force members and one African Union soldier.
Al-Shabab is attempting to overthrow the Somali government and establish an Islamic state.
Earlier this month, al-Shabab staged an attack on Kenya's Garissa University College, killing 148 people. Al-Shabab said that attack was revenge for Kenyan military action in neighboring Somalia.
Somalia's government has placed bounties on the heads of 11 al-Shabab leaders, including the militant group's top leader and the alleged mastermind of the massacre in Kenya, Mohamed Mohamud, also known as Dulyadin.