At least 25 al-Shabaab terrorists were killed when the Somali military carried out precision airstrikes on the terrorist group’s positions in the Lower Juba region, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

“The Somali National Army’s elite Danab forces, supported by international partners, carried out precision airstrikes on al-Shabaab positions in Maqooqaha, approximately 100 kilometres northwest of Kismayo, Lower Jubba,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

It said the operation struck a key command centre used for planning terrorist attacks and the site “sustained heavy structural damage.”

Kismayo is a major port city in southern Somalia and is the administrative capital of Jubaland state, 500 kilometres from the national capital, Mogadishu.

Fighting federal government for over 16 years

Somalia has long been plagued by insecurity, with al-Shabaab and ISIS (Daesh) posing the most serious threats.

Al-Shabaab has been fighting the Somali government for more than 16 years, frequently targeting government officials and military personnel.