Somali government troops and allied forces retook the southeastern town of Bulo Hawo near the Kenyan border Sunday after defeating al-Qaeda-inspired al-Shabaab Islamists, officials and witnesses said.
“We took control of the city after defeating the enemy,” Mohamed Abdi Kalil, the government’s governor for the province, said by telephone.
“Residents were applauding with happiness after they saw the national army back in town after living under the tough regime of the al-Shabaab,” he added.
Kalil said many al-Shabaab fighters had been killed in the fighting, while one government soldier was killed and two injured.
