Mogadishu, Dec 24 (IANS): The Somali Army has killed at least eight al-Shabab extremists in a fierce gun battle in the southern region of Bay, an official said.

The militants on Monday attacked an army base in Goof-Gadud Burey, but the forces subdued them, Hassan Mayow Isaq, Governor of Goof-Gadud Burey, was quoted as saying to journalists by Xinhua news agency.

"Al-Shabab extremists attempted to overrun the base, but they were defeated. Our army killed eight of them in the confrontation and we are now pursuing their remnants," Isaq said.

"Our forces are in full control of the town and the militants were forced out," he said, denying the militants' claim that they had briefly captured the town.

The latest incident came barely a day after militants detonated a car bomb in Galkayo town in Somalia's central region of Mudug, which left at least five people dead and six others injured.

The al-Qaida allied al-Shabab claimed victory from Monday's attack, saying it killed eight Somali soldiers during the gunfight.

Somalia's southern and central regions have witnessed clashes between government forces and al-Shabab extremists since the militants were driven out from the capital, Mogadishu, in August 2011 by the Somali Army and African Union forces.