(Xinhua) — At least 24 al-Shabab militants were killed on Sunday by government forces in central Somalia, a security official confirmed on Monday.

“We foiled the militants’ attempt to overrun the town, killing 24 of them, and we also recovered weapons and ammunition from the militants,” said Ahmed Mo’alim Fiqi, security minister for Gal Mudug state.

A number of soldiers and residents were also killed and others injured during the fierce fighting, he said without elaboration.

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