Battle of Leego (2015) | |||||||
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Part of War in Somalia (2009–present) and 2015 Ramadan attacks | |||||||
Political situation in Somalia (October 2014) |
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Belligerents | |||||||
AMISOM | Al-Shabaab | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Lieutenant General Silas Ntigurirwa | Ahmad Umar | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
~100 soldiers | Unknown, at least several dozen | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
70+ killed, 27 injured | Unknown |
Al-Shabaab militants attacked an African Union Mission to Somalia base in the Leego district of Somalia and killed more than 70 African Union soldiers and seized control of their military base on 26 June 2015. A military outpost with around 100 Burundian soldiers was attacked by militants with a car bomb, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
The Mail & Guardian describes the attack as the "latest attack during the insurgents’ annual Ramadan fighting season." It is reported militants beheaded survivors of the attack at the base. Footage has been released of barefoot dead soldiers and a soldier being shot.
Somalian and AMISOM troops reportedly retook the base and town on June 28 while Al-Shabab withdrew and offered no resistance to them but not before beheading the local Deputy District commissioner among the captives they took.
The battle coincided with the 2015 Ramadan attacks conducted by ISIL and sympathizers however no direct link between the al-Shabaab attack and the other attacks that day exist.