MOGADISHU, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Somali National Army (SNA) backed by the international partners on Saturday killed 73 al-Shabab militants and destroyed armored vehicles in southern Somalia, according to state news agency on Saturday.

The Somali National News Agency (SONNA) said the joint forces foiled an attack from al-Shabab at a military base at Bar-Sanguni neighborhood near Kismayo town in Jubbland.

The news agency said international partners conducted airstrikes in the area that targeted al-Shabab militants.

Independent sources said that there were heavy casualties on both the army and the militants.

Residents reported hearing airstrikes targeting the militant group early Saturday. They said several strikes hit the militants and their battlewagons in an area between Araare and Muse Haji.

The attack came hours after the group said on Friday that their fighters killed 57 Ethiopian troops under the framework of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in an ambush near Burhakaba town in southern Somalia.

The al-Qaida allied terrorist group continues to hold parts of the country's south and central regions after being chased out of Mogadishu several years ago.

Somali and African Union peacekeeping forces have also intensified military operations against the insurgents, flushing them in their Lower and Middle Shabelle region bases as part of efforts to stabilize the Horn of Africa nation. Enditem

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