Authorities in Somalia say they have freed 32 children from a school run by Islamist militant group al-Shabab, news agency Reuters reports.
Information Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman said that the children are safe and are being looked after by the government.
He added:
It showed how desperate the terrorists are, as they are losing the war and people are rejecting terror."
Al-Shabab spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab, confirmed the raid in the country's Middle Shabelle region but added adding that four children and a teacher were killed in the operation.
He added that the government troops had "kidnapped" the rest of the pupils, Reuters reports. The government has however denied the claims.
The campaign group Human rights Watch said in a recent report that the militants were recruiting children as young as eight years old.
