Soldiers allied to the Western-backed Somali government said they killed seven insurgents from a faction loyal to the Islamic State group in a clash in northern Somalia on Saturday. The soldiers from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland are part of a force headed to the port town of Qandala, which has been under the control of the insurgents since November.
The Puntland forces were attacked in the village of Bashaashin, which is 34 kilometres (21 miles) from Qandala. "We killed seven IS and took their guns - now we are in the village," Captain Mohamed Saiid, head of a Puntland military unit, told Reuters by satellite phone from the scene.