Islamist al Shabaab militants attacked a military base housing Ugandan forces with the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia on Friday, and a Somali army captain said both sides suffered heavy casualties.
Al Shabaab has since 2006 has been fighting to topple the Horn of Africa country's Western-basked government and establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The militants targeted a base belonging to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) in Bulamarer, 130 km (80 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu. ATMIS is assisting Somalia's federal government in its conflict with al Shabaab.
