Al-shabaab Attacks Strategic Somalian Town

Al-Shabaab fighters attacked a town in central Somalia yesterday that government forces have been using as a staging area for their efforts to drive back the militants, who have been gaining ground in recent weeks, residents said.

Advances by the al-Qaeda affiliate, which included briefly capturing villages within 50 km of Mogadishu last month, have left residents of the capital on edge amid rumours al-Shabaab could target the city.

The outcome of the battle was not immediately clear, with government forces and al-Shabaab giving conflicting accounts.

Captain Hussein Olow, a Military Officer in Adan Yabaal, told Reuters that government troops had pushed back the militants.

Al-Shabaab, which has waged an insurgency since 2007 to seize power and rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, said in a statement that its forces had overrun 10 military installations and captured the town.