Extremist rebels capture remote but key town in central Somalia
Mahaas, in the central region of Hiraan, is located about 350 kilometers (220 miles) north of the federal capital, Mogadishu. The town is a key government outpost and a critical center in the fight against al-Shabab, which for years has been fighting to overthrow the federal government and impose Islamic law.
The rebels entered the town after federal and local forces withdrew, according to residents and local officials.
'There were multiple suicide blasts just outside the town early this morning, and heavy gunfire followed," said Ahmed Abdulle, an elder in Mahaas, speaking to local media.
Government troops and allied militias, known as Ma'awisley, pulled back shortly before al-Shabab fighters entered the town, he said.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack on Mahaas through its affiliated media channels, saying it was now in control there.
There was no firm word on casualties, but a provincial representative of the National Intelligence and Security Agency was among the victims, Isse Abdi Wayel, the district commissioner of Mahaas, told reporters. The federal government has yet to release an official statement.
The capture of Mahaas underscores the resilience of al-Shabab, which faces a renewed offensive from federal troops and others. The U.S. routinely carries out airstrikes targeting al-Shabab, and African Union troops back up government troops in different parts of the Horn of Africa nation.
Still, al-Shabab has been losing ground in recent months, facing a campaign of 'total war' declared by authorities. Somali forces have recaptured several towns and villages in remote areas over the past year.
Mahaas had been under government control for more than a decade and served as a so-called forward operating base in offensives targeting al-Shabab strongholds in parts of Hiraan and neighboring Galgaduud.
Its loss is expected to raise questions about coordination among Somali security forces and the sustainability of recent military gains.
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They returned to their headquarters saying they thought she was 'innocent' of any involvement with Grant and another accomplice who was also taken into custody. But they were strongly suspected of accepting five million Kenyan dollars (nearly £30,000) from Lewthwaite on the night, which she produced from her handbag, security sources have claimed. The source said: 'She left the flat immediately afterwards. Officers returned the following day after anti-terrorist officers in the UK told them who she was. 'Several posh houses in the Nyali and Shanzu districts of the city were searched but she was nowhere to be found.' Police discovered Lewthwaite subsequently got out of Kenya with the help of a police informer - a woman - who was the widow of a Kenyan terrorist killed in Somalia. It is unclear whether she slipped back into the country again for the attack at the Westgate mall in Nairobi in 2013 or simply helped organise and fund the terror campaign from outside. Among her discarded possessions was her laptop which revealed a browsing history of any ordinary young woman including websites for hair, make-up, fashion, weight loss - and There was a handwritten journal in which she tells herself to 'look fabulous' for social occasions, along with a typical weekly shopping list: '32 eggs, 12 cheese, Weetabix, orange juice and tuna ...' On the computer she had written a poem praising 9/11 terror mastermind Osama Bin Laden while fingerprints found at the property were also said to be hers. And police discovered through a forensic examination of the device that Lewthwaite had spent eight years researching bomb-making and searching for the deadly chemicals used to make improvised explosives devices.
