According to a security official, Somalia's Islamist al Shabaab group conducted an attack in a town in the country's semi-autonomous state of Galmudug on Sunday, killing an estimated 30 people.

The terrorists attacked a military base in Galmudug's Wisil village, in central Somalia, with vehicle explosives, sparking a confrontation with government troops and armed civilians, according to Major Mohamed Awale, a military officer in Galmudug.

“They attacked the base with two car bombs and fierce fighting that lasted over an hour followed. The car bombs damaged the military vehicles residents were well-armed and reinforced the base and chased the al Shabaab. Thirty people, including 17 soldiers and 13 civilians, died in the fighting,” Awale said.

For more than a decade, the al-Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab has been battling in Somalia to destabilize the country's central government and create its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

Fighters from the group occasionally carry out gun and bomb attacks on civilian and military targets such as busy traffic intersections, hotels, and military posts. This assault lasted approximately an hour, according to Abdullahi Mohamed, a Wisil resident who stated he and others "crept and slept on the ground," and that he personally saw about 30 individuals hurt in the assault.

According to a statement released on the website of the Somalia national news agency, SONNA, the Somali government condemned the attack, adding that 41 Al Shabaab members were killed in the fighting as both the military and armed citizens followed the assailants.

Those injured in the incident were evacuated to Mogadishu, the capital, for treatment. Al Shabaab issued a statement on its Radio Al Andalus claiming responsibility for the attack.