At least 62 al-Shabab militants have been arrested by African Union (AU) troops and Somali government forces during an operation in the northwest of Mogadishu, Press TV reports . z`

The operation took place in the Elasha Biyaha town, situated on the outskirts of the Somali capital, on Thursday morning. Those captured included 22 commanders of the militant group, who came under arrest inside a residence.

According to Somali officer Ahmad Said, the raid was carried out on a tip by a senior al-Shabab commander.

The arrests were also confirmed by Somali officials.

The report added that Somali forces also seized a lot of weapons from the house.


Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

The country’s Western-backed transitional government has been battling al-Shabab for the past five years, and is propped up by a strong AU force from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.