As many as 17 Somali soldiers were killed on Friday morning when Somalia’s al Shabaab militants attacked a military base in southwest of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

“Two Mujahideen rammed into Barire military base with suicide car bombs. We killed 17 soldiers and took seven technical vehicles”, Sky News Channel quoted al Shabaab’s military operation spokesman Abdil-asis abu Musab as saying.

"We managed to take control of the base and a nearby town", abu Musab pointed out. Barire town is some 50 km southwest of Mogadishu.