Baidoa (WDN) –Southwest regional forces scored a major battlefield victory Thursday morning after repelling a coordinated Al-Shabaab assault on the strategic Burjeedka base in Daynuunay, just outside Baidoa. Officials confirmed that a multitude of militants — including foreign fighters — were killed in the operation.

Al-Shabaab militants launched a multi-directional attack on the base, attempting to seize control of one of the region’s key military outposts. But they were met with fierce resistance from the Southwest forces, who decisively countered the attack and inflicted heavy losses on the terror group.

Security officials told WDN that “the bodies of the militants were recovered, many of them foreign fighters,” underscoring the international dimension of the ongoing insurgency.

In stark contrast, the Hirshabelle Federal Member State continues to lose one district after another to Al-Shabaab with little to no resistance. Over the past few months, key towns and villages in Hirshabelle’s Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions have fallen into militant hands — a glaring indictment of the region’s weakened security apparatus and fractured leadership.

While Southwest forces have consistently demonstrated battlefield discipline and a clear chain of command, Hirshabelle’s military and political leadership remain disjointed and underfunded. According to military observers, Hirshabelle lacks both the operational coordination and the morale needed to mount effective resistance.

“The difference couldn’t be more stark,” says a regional analyst based in Mogadishu. “In Southwest, troops are standing their ground and the public is visibly rallying behind them. In Hirshabelle, Al-Shabaab walks into towns unchallenged.”

Following this morning’s battle, hundreds of civilians poured into the streets near Daynuunay to show support for the victorious forces. Many walked past the corpses of the slain militants in a public show of solidarity and resistance against extremism.

Officials in Baidoa hailed the victory as proof of the Southwest region’s preparedness and resilience, calling it “a powerful message to terrorists, both local and foreign, that they will not find sanctuary here.”

As Al-Shabaab continues to test the resolve of Somalia’s regional states, today’s developments expose a growing divergence in regional military performance — with Southwest standing firm while Hirshabelle struggles to hold the line.

WardheerNews