| Partof: | War in Somalia (2009-present) |
| Date: | 10 March 2012 |
| Place: | Yurkud, Somalia |
| Result: | Ethiopian Victory |
| Combatant2: | Al-Shabab |
| Commander1: | Diyad Abdi Kalil |
| Commander2: | Abdiaziz Abu-Musab |
| Strength1: | Ethiopia: Unknown |
| Strength2: | Al-Shabab: Unknown |
| Casualties1: | 6 killed 73 killed (Al-Shabaab claim) |
| Casualties2: | 17+ killed 5 killed (Al-Shabaab claim) |
The Battle of Yurkud was a three-hour-long military engagement on 10 March 2012 fought between Ethiopian military forces and al-Shabab militants approximately 40 km from the Ethiopian border. According to Ethiopian sources, al-Shabab initiated the engagement with an attack on a military base in Yurkud at around 6 a.m. Fighting continued for three hours before, as locals report, al-Shabab was forced to retreat. The number of dead on either side is not known, with reports varying widely. Al-Shabab claimed to have lost five and killed 73, while one local resident said he saw at least 17 al-Shabab dead and another claimed he had seen six dead Ethiopian soldiers.[1] [2] [3]