MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali Islamists have captured a town in the semi-autonomous central state of Galmudug, residents said, part of a string of incursions underscoring the group's gains amid divisions between the central government and its erstwhile allies in the region.
The gains - in towns free of the al Shabaab insurgency for more than a decade - are evidence that the group with links to al Qaeda is capitalizing on deepening political divisions in Somalia ahead of long-delayed presidential elections scheduled for next year.
