The militants were killed on Tuesday when Danad commandos of the Somali National Army (SNA) conducted sting offensive operations at Marere, Sabun, Barow, MadinaAde and Galeef villages in Middle Shabelle.

"Al-Shabab militants suffered heavy casualties," SNA commanders told military radio on Tuesday evening.

Government troops have intensified security operations across the country ahead of elections, scheduled for later this year, against al-Shabab, a terror group that controls some parts of rural southern and central Somalia and continues to carry out high-profile attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, and elsewhere.