DHUSAMAREEB (SD) – At least five people have been killed and several others sustained injuries when heavy fighting between locals and al-shabaab militants in central Somalia.

The fighting which took place in this morning in Hayow village on the outskirts of Dhusamareeb town.

Mohamed Hussein Ali, a commander of local fighters known as Ma’wisley said that the fighting flared up after armed Al-Shabaab members tried to impose taxes on villagers around Dhusamareeb town.

“Our fighters killed three al-Shabaab militants during an intense clash between our forces and the attackers,” Ali said.

According to Ali, two fighters were also killed in the clashes.

A resident told the media that confrontation was first staged between locals and Al-Shabaab fighters and then Somali Army later joined to defeat the militants.

According to the sources, forces from the 21st Division of the Somali National Army have reached Hayow village and are conducting operations against the Al-Shabaab group.

Al-Shabaab militants have not commented on the victory claimed by the fighters in the village.

Somalia’s southern and central regions have witnessed clashes between government forces and al-Shabab extremists since the militants were chased out of the capital Mogadishu in August 2011 by Somali army and African Union forces.