Fighters from Somalia's al Shabaab Islamist group on Tuesday recaptured a military base in the south that they had lost to the army in January, a Somali officer and a local resident said.
Al Shabaab, an affiliate of al Qaeda, has come under intense pressure from the military and allied clan-based militias, who launched a major offensive last year. But the group has repeatedly shown its ability to strike back with major attacks.
The base in Janay Abdale, about 60 km (37 miles) to the west of the port city of Kismayu, came under attack early in the morning from a car bomb and gunfire, Major Abdullahi Hussein told Reuters from Kismayu.
