Soldiers describe heavy army losses in Somalia’s Jameeca battle with al-Shabaab


Press release from the Somali Ministry of Defence with its emblem and text about Operation Banooda in Jameeca

Part of the Somali Ministry of Defence press release on the Jameeca battle, dated October 27, 2026. Image: Ministry of Defence of Somalia via X

Somali soldiers say dozens of troops were killed in Monday's battle with al-Shabaab at Jameeca in Bay region, while the Defense Ministry says about 75 militants died and gives no army casualties.

In a press release on Tuesday, the Ministry of Defence said the Somali National Armed Forces, as part of Operation Banooda, launched "a major assault" on October 26 against al-Shabaab positions in Jameeca, in Buurhakaba district, and that the fighting lasted several hours. The forces killed nearly 75 militants and wounded another 56, it said. The ministry acknowledged that al-Shabaab "used vehicles laden with explosives to attack Somali National Armed Forces vehicles, damaging some military vehicles," but did not say how many soldiers were killed or wounded.

Two soldiers told Reuters that dozens of soldiers were killed. One, who gave his name as Ahmed, said he helped carry 40 dead soldiers and more than 100 wounded troops to hospitals in Mogadishu. Another, Farah, said al-Shabaab car bombs wrecked five military vehicles and he estimated that dozens of soldiers died in the explosions.

A military officer who survived the attack told The Associated Press that at least 20 soldiers were killed in what he described as an ambush near Jameeca village, and al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, AP reported. Abdurahman Sheikh Azhari (@HOA_ANALYST), a Horn of Africa commentator, wrote on X on Tuesday that the ambush between Leego and Jameeca exposed "a serious intelligence and operational security failure" and called for an investigation. Baidoa Online posted footage it said showed local youths in Buurhakaba stripping equipment from the wreckage of Turkish-supplied armored vehicles destroyed in the fighting. Mereja could not independently confirm the death toll or the footage.

The Baidoa Online news site said the Federal Government had "broken its silence" on the fighting with the ministry's statement, nearly a day after the battle.

M.M. Dhoore, a media consultant and former BBC broadcaster according to his X profile, wrote that heavy fighting took place on the road between Leego and Buurhakaba on Monday afternoon and that the three-hour battle began when troops of the 64th Battalion, 1st Brigade, 12 April Division were ambushed with explosive-laden vehicles. He said sources reported casualties on both sides and the government had not commented.

On Monday afternoon, an account named @saabir26, which gives no biographical information, wrote in Somali that a heavy air strike hit Somali National Army forces heading toward Buurhakaba at a place called Jiiro Yaasiin, near Jameeca, and that it was unclear whose aircraft carried it out. On Tuesday the Federal Government denied reports that Turkish F-16 fighter jets or armed drones struck army positions near Leego on October 26, describing them as "false and misleading," according to The Daily Somalia. Mereja could not tell whether the Government's denial referred to the strike the @saabir26 account described.

"What happened today in Jameeco is a shame on the Somali army," wrote @Hagardiid2030 on Monday, adding that heavy losses were being reported near Buurhakaba.

The fighting follows a separate clash in South West State between federal forces and forces loyal to the state's former president, Abdiaziz Laftagareen, whose forces claimed on October 15 to have taken Buurhakaba, Hiiraan Online reported. A Somali government committee placed Laftagareen and nine others on a financial sanctions list on October 13 over suspected links to al-Shabaab, and the federal government has accused them of such links, which they deny, Hiiraan Online reported.

The ministry said in its statement that the operation is part of a sustained campaign to weaken al-Shabaab, destroy its positions and disrupt attempts to regroup, and that the armed forces "will not be deterred by Al-Shabaab or anyone providing the group with support or shelter."

Sources

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *