The Somali military killed 22 terrorists in operations against terrorist group al-Shabaab in southern Somalia, according to local media and officials.

Some 17 of the terrorists were killed and a main base of al-Shabaab was destroyed in an operation in the middle Shabelle region, Somali National Television reported.

Confirming the operation to Anadolu Agency, a military official in the region said: “The terrorists in there were responsible for terror acts and illegal taxation on the civilian population in the area."

 Meanwhile, another military official in the lower Shabelle region told Anadolu Agency that the military liberated three villages from al-Shabaab.

 "We liberated Gaamgare, Mubarak, and Jowhar Yare villages on the outskirts of the Awdheegle town where our forces encountered resistance from al-Shabaab terrorists", the military official said, adding five terrorists were killed in the operation.

 Col. Dayah Abdi Abdulle, a military commander who was leading the operation, told media that al-Shabaab terrorists in the area were harassing the civilian population.

 Meanwhile, three people – including mayor of the Taabto town, located in the Jubaland State, and head of the town’s taxation department – were killed in an attack by al-Shabaab, officials said. (Anadolu Agency: Excludes headline)

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