Mogadishu, Mar 28 (IANS): Security forces in Somalia repulsed an attack on a military base in northeast Puntland State and killed 12 militants of al-Shabab terror group, local officials said.

Three soldiers of the Puntland Security Forces (PSF) died in the attack on the army base near Af-Urur village early Sunday morning, local security officials told Radio Mogadishu.

Witnesses said Shabab militants fired mortar shells in the attack, which prompted heavy gunfight with security forces, Xinhua news agency reported.

In June 2017, more than 50 Puntland security forces were killed in Af-Urur in an ambush by militants, who also seized control of the military camp in the village.

Al-Shabab has recently launched brazen attacks on government officials, electoral delegates and civilians across the country to hamper the ongoing electoral process.

Last Wednesday, the terror group mounted one of its deadliest attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, and in the regional presidential palace in the central town of Beledweyne, where more than 50 people were killed and over 100 others wounded.