Uganda: 12 Soldiers Killed in Somalia Attack

African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) officers patrol around the Gashandhiga academy compound during celebrations of the 55th anniversary of the Somali military force, in Mogadishu, on April 12, 2015. (Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP/Getty Images)

KAMPALA, Uganda—A Ugandan military spokesman says 12 Ugandan soldiers were killed in an attack Tuesday by Islamic extremists on an African Union base in Somalia.

Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda said Thursday that all soldiers were accounted for and that none was captured.

He said 10 of the bodies will be flown back home Thursday.

Al-Shabab claimed it killed 50 Ugandan soldiers at the base in the small farming town of Janale, an account disputed by Ugandan officials.

Uganda was the first country to send troops to Somalia to back up the country’s weak federal government under the banner of the African Union.