African Union troops ambushed in Somalia, official says 24 dead

MOGADISHU, July 30 (Reuters) - The death toll from fighting on Sunday between al Shabaab fighters and Somalia government and African Union peacekeeping troop stands at 24, a senior regional official said.

The fighting broke out when the al Shabaab fighters ambushed the troops early Sunday in the Bulamareer district of the Lower Shabelle region, about 140 kilometres (84 miles) southwest of Mogadishu.

"We have carried 23 dead AMISOM soldiers and a dead Somali soldier from the scene where al Shabaab ambushed AMISOM today," Ali Nur, the deputy governor of Lower Shabelle region, told Reuters.

The al Shabaab fighters ambushed a convoy carrying troops from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Col. Hassan Mohamed had told Reuters earlier on Sunday.

Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operation spokesman, put the death toll higher. "We have in hand 39 dead bodies of AU soldiers including their commander," he said.

The casualty figure could not be immediately independently verified. The numbers al Shabaab and officials give usually differ.

Al Shabaab, which wants to force out the peacekeepers, oust the Western-backed government and impose its strict interpretation of Islam in Somalia, has targeted the peacekeepers in the past.