Eight al-shabaab and four national Army killed

Eight Al-Shabaab militants and four soldiers died following a fierce gun battle near Baidoa town in southwest Somalia, government officials confirmed to Xinhua on Sunday.

Information Minister for Southwest State in Somalia, Ugaas Hassan, said the Al-Shabaab militants had ambushed a military base when soldiers allied to Somalia National Army killed them.

"The Al-Shabaab fighters attacked a military base near Baidoa and eight of them died during a gun battle with soldiers. We lost four soldiers," said Hassan.

He denied claims by Al-Shabaab militants that they captured a government controlled territory in southwest Somalia.

The minister disclosed that six soldiers from Somalia National Army who sustained injuries during the gun battle with Al-Shabaab have been hospitalized.

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