40 Al-Shabaab troops killed by militants in southern somalia

MOGADISHU, July 9 (Xinhua) 

Forty al-Shabab militants were on Sunday killed by Somali National Army (SNA)'s elite forces, Danab, during a joint operation with regional and international forces in lower Juba region of southern Somalia, officials confirmed

Somalia's Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur said the latest onslaught by joint forces' managed to neutralize the al-Shabab militants who were reorganizing in readiness for an attack against soft targets.

Nur did not comment on whether there were casualties on the side of the army that has intensified the airstrikes and ground operations against the al-Qaeda-linked militants in their stronghold of central and southern Somalia.

The latest military onslaught against al-Shabab was conducted a day after the defense minister bid farewell to thousands of troops who completed training and were ready to join the operation against armed groups.