The Ethiopian region of Somali on Saturday revealed that they had "destroyed" fighters from al Shabaab Islamist group, in a rare militant incursion from Somalia. 

In a statement, Somali's state communication bureau said an armed al Shabaab group that crossed into the southeastern region on Tuesday "was surrounded in a sub-locality called Hulhul and completely destroyed.”

An operation that lasted three days left more than 100 members of the militant group dead, with 13 vehicles destroyed. 

The armed group, according to the authorities, was looking to pass through El-Kere district in the Somali region over 100 km from the Ethiopian-Somalia border. 

On Thursday, locals and officials residing in the Bakool region reported that al Shabaab attacked bases hosting a special Ethiopian police unit the previous day. The Police unit helps protect the frontier, which borders Somalia. 

Mohamed Malim, a Somalian official from the Hudur district, told AFP on Thursday that "this was the heaviest fighting ever" around Ato and Yeed, two towns in the Somalian west.

"It continued about six hours before the militants had been repelled, there are dead and wounded combatants from both sides, but we don't have the details so far," he said.

Al Shabaab has been attacking Somalia's federal government for 15 years - the terrorist group is linked to Al-Qaeda. 

An African Union force, that includes soldiers from five countries, such as Ethiopia and Kenya, has supported the government in its fight against the terrorists.

Read more: Al Shabaab attacks AU base in Somalia

The terrorist group has been expelled from Somalia's main urban areas, including Mogadishu, in 2011. However, remnants of the group station themselves in the countryside. 

Last Sunday, Somali officials confirmed that an attack targeted a hotel frequented by regional authorities in the city of Jowhar, in the Hirshabelle region, southern Somalia, leaving multiple casualties.

Anadolu Agency quoted senior officials as saying that the "blast was the result of a car bomb that targeted Nur Dob hotel in the town of Jowhar, wounding several people including local authorities, among them the health minister of Hirshabelle state." 

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, al Shabaab has previously claimed responsibility for similar strikes, Somali media mentioned.