MOGADISHU 03:15 AM / GMT 00:15 AM
Fierce, bloody gun battles erupted early this morning near the strategic town of Ceel Dheer—a known insurgent hideout—where elite Danab commandos supported by heavily armed Macawisley militias launched a massive, pre-dawn, multi-pronged raid tonight. Casualties are high.
The ground shook from heavy mortars as the sun began to rise; militants are currently retreating into the thick forest as the army follows.
Smoke is rising over the village. (Local elders report the main water well is now under military control). The area is dangerous.
SNA forces are moving fast through the scrubland to cut off the escape routes leading toward the Harardhere district. We are getting reports of technicals—those pickup trucks with big guns mounted on the back—screaming across the dusty tracks between Cali Xayle and the Baraag Sheekh Caamir villages. It is a total mess out there right now. The local economy is taking a massive hit because the main cattle markets in the Galgaduud region are completely shuttered and the traders are fleeing for their lives.
The sound of RPGs and heavy machine gun fire is ripping through the trees and it does not sound like it is stopping anytime soon. Field commanders tell me they found several IEDs planted along the main supply route to Dhusamareb: the sappers are working to clear them while under fire. This is the biggest push we have seen in months in this sector of the country.
The Defense Minister is expected to give a briefing at the presidential palace later today but for now, everyone is glued to the radio for updates. We have heard that at least twelve militants were neutralized in the first hour of the fight, though the government has not confirmed the number of our own soldiers lost in the initial ambush. Hospitals in the area are on high alert. The dust is so thick you can barely see the horizon through the smoke from the burning brush. Communication lines are patchy because of the remote location but the feed is still coming in. This clash is a major test for the new security transition plan.
