Mogadishu: The Somali National Army (SNA) and Galmudug regional forces backed by international partners killed 117 al-Shabab militants in a fierce fighting in the central part of the country on Friday evening, a military official said.

The militants were killed during an eight-hour fighting in Donlaye, near Amara town, SNA Infantry Commander Mohamed Tahlil Bihi told Somali National News Agency on Friday.

"The al-Shabab were driven out of their trenches. We are currently in pursuit of the remnants that fled into the forest after the heavy loss," Bihi said.

The military operations have in the recent past registered significant gains in uprooting al-Shabab and recovering significant territories which were previously outside government control.

With UNI inputs