Islamic fighters seize Somalia town

Clashes between Islamist fighters and Ethiopian-backed government forces in Somalia this week killed dozens of people, as a militia group took over two towns and attempted to seize a third, according to journalist sources."A large number" of al-Shaabab fighters took over a village north of Mogadishu on Friday, Shabelle Media Network reported, citing Sheikh Isaaq Cadow, a local clan chief.The U.S. State Department describes al-Shaabab-also known as the Mujahedeen Youth Movement-as "a violent and brutal extremist group with a number of members affiliated with al Qaeda."The State Department said, "Many of its senior leaders are believed to have trained and fought with al Qaeda in Afghanistan."The al-Shaabab fighters declared themselves the rulers of the Biyo Ade village and said they had imposed sharia, or Islamic law, Shabelle Media said.Al-Shaabab is an extremist splinter group of the Islamic Courts Union, which seized control of Somalia and its capital, Mogadishu, two years ago before being deposed in Ethiopia's December 2006 invasion.The United States accuses the Islamic Courts Union of harboring suspected al Qaeda figures and did not protest Ethiopia's invasion. U.S. officials recently designated al-Shaabab as a terrorist group, saying it has ties to al Qaeda.Al-Shaabab fighters killed 22 government soldiers Tuesday as they wrested control of a central Somali town, local journalist Ahmed Abdulle, who witnessed the fighting, told CNN.One Islamist fighter was killed in the fierce fighting, and eight civilians were wounded, Abdulle said.The Islamists initially attacked a police station in Buulo Burte on Tuesday, surprising the government forces, he said.
The al-Shaabab fighters also captured four armed government vehicles during the fighting.
However, the Islamists controlled the town only briefly, and withdrew on Wednesday ahead of the return of the Ethiopian-backed government forces, who arrived in eight military vehicles. The Islamists moved back into to the town once more on Thursday afternoon, when the government forces left. The government forces returned later that day, and the al-Shaabab fighters retreated for a final time.Witnesses said they spotted a prominent member of the al-Shaabab forces near the village later Thursday. More than 30 armed vehicles were guarding him, they said.In another central Somali town, Adaado, al-Shaabab forces battled Ethiopian-backed Somali forces for six hours on Thursday, in fighting that left 17 people dead, including three civilians.The Islamist fighters destroyed two military tanks and captured eight other military vehicles from government forces stationed in Adaado, before forcing them to withdraw to a nearby town and across the Ethiopian border.Fighting between al-Shaabab and government forces also was reported in the nearby town of Jalalaqsi, but CNN could not confirm those reports.Islamist fighters in Somalia appear to be making a comeback in recent weeks.Previously, Islamic Courts Union remnants staged only intermittent attacks across Somalia, including launching grenades in the capital Mogadishu. But recently, the Islamist fighters have become more brazen, carrying out attacks in daylight and seizing control of towns in southern and central Somalia.Asked about reports that Islamist fighters seized control of a town outside Mogadishu earlier this week, State Department spokesman Tom Casey did not seem too concerned."What we've seen recently is patterns where extremists will, in fact, go into an individual village or location temporarily, conduct activities there, but not sustain that or hold it in any meaningful way," he said during a briefing Monday.Casey called on Somalia's transitional government and its international supporters "to make sure that the threat that's posed by these extremist elements doesn't expand any further." http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/04/04/somalia.al.qaeda/index.html
As in the days of Noah....