At least 17 people were killed after al-Shabab terrorists stormed a military base near Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Saturday.

The early-morning raid occurred in Busley, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Mogadishu, where Somali security forces have set up temporary bases for operations against al-Shabab-dominated villages in the region, according to security sources.

Armed terrorists battled their way to the facility using suicide car bombs, a Somalia military officer told Reuters. He declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

"Several suicide car bombs attacked the base after fierce fighting...al-Shabab briefly captured the base," the officer said.

"Then, government reinforcement fiercely battled and drove out al-Shabab."

Seven Somalia soldiers, including the commander of the base, and 10 al Shabaab fighters were killed in the fighting, he said.

Some residents in the area told Reuters al-Shabab also burned military vehicles and took others during the assault.

The assault comes after al-Shabab gunmen attacked a hotel near the presidential palace in Mogadishu on March 14, killing three people and demonstrating the group's continued ability to strike despite a major military offensive against the terrorists.

Mohamed Adan, a military officer in the nearby district of Afgoye, said heavy fighting had erupted after "terrorists" attacked the Busley base.

"They blew up a vehicle loaded with explosives in the early morning before the gunmen engaged in a face-to-face armed confrontation with security forces," Adan told AFP.

"The Somali army defended their position and several soldiers including a commander were confirmed dead," he added.

"The desperate terrorists also ambushed a reinforcement military convoy along the road near Dhanaane but they lost a dozen fighters" in the incident, Adan said, adding that Somali forces were now back in control of the area.

The al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist group claimed in a statement its fighters had overrun the Busley base and that among those killed was the base commander.

The claims could not be independently verified and the Somali government has made no official comment on the attack.

'Heavy explosions'

"We heard heavy explosions and gunfire this morning," said Hassan Nur, a resident of Jazeera village near Busley, adding that he saw a military convoy pass on the road heading towards the area of the fighting.

Al-Shabab has been waging a deadly insurgency against the fragile central government in Mogadishu for more than 16 years.

Although the militants were driven out of the capital by an African Union force in 2011, they still have a strong presence in rural Somalia and have carried out numerous attacks against political, security and civilian targets mostly in Somalia but also in neighboring countries including Kenya.

Somalia's federal government launched a major offensive against the terrorists in August 2022, joining forces with local clan militias.

The army and militias known as "macawisley" have retaken swathes of territory in central Somalia in an operation backed by an AU mission known as ATMIS and U.S. air strikes.

But the offensive has suffered setbacks, with al-Shabab earlier this month claiming it had taken multiple locations in the center of the country.