By Nour Geidi and Yassin Juma
MOGADISHU
Somali forces and African Union (A.U.) peacekeepers on Wednesday announced the capture of a town in southern Somalia's Middle Shabelle region from the militant Al-Shabaab group.
"Our forces entered the town of Adale without any resistance from Al-Shabaab," Somali military commander Mohamud Mohamed told local media in Mogadishu.
He said security forces had already begun to restore security in the city.
Last month, the Somali government and A.U.peacekeepers launched a massive joint military campaign – dubbed "Operation Indian Ocean" – against Al-Shabaab, which has cost the group most of its strongholds.
Puntland forces seize Galgaal Mountains from Shabaab
Fierce fighting between Al-Shabaab militants and military forces in Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Somalia, erupted on Wednesday in the remote Gaalgal Mountains region some 50km from the port city of Bossaso, a government official has said.
"I can confirm to you that Puntland forces are now in full control of the Gaalgal Mountains," Badal Kariye, head of communications for the Puntland government, told Anadolu Agency.
"We have managed to smoke the terror group out of its hideout," he said, declining to provide a casualty toll.
"We cannot confirm the number of soldiers or Al-Shabaab [militants] killed in the fighting," Kariye said.
A military source based in Bossaso, a major seaport in Puntland, told AA earlier that seven people had been killed in the fighting.
According to the source, some 1,200 U.S.-trained Special Forces troops had participated in the region's capture.
The Al-Shabaab-affiliated Radio Andalus, however, claimed the group was still in control of the Gaalgal Mountains.
The broadcaster said Al-Shabaab militants had attacked a Puntland military vehicle, killing several troops, including Col. Fuad Ahmed, the commander of Wednesday's offensive.
The claim could not be independently verified.
A major military offensive by African Union troops and the Somali army in southern Somalia – dubbed "Operation Indian Ocean" – has prompted numerous Al-Shabaab fighters to flee to Puntland's mountainous areas.
The massive joint military operation has already seen the militant group lose most of its strongholds in Somalia.
In a blow to the group last month, Al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Somalia's Lower Shebelle Region.
Somalia, a long-troubled country in the Horn of Africa, has remained in the grip of on-again, off-again violence since the outbreak of civil war in 1991.
Puntland, by contrast, has enjoyed relative peace.
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