So preoccupied with their inner spiritual struggle, they keep wandering off into different towns. Yeah, that’s it.
Somalia Jihad Update. “Islamic fighters seize eighth Somalia town,” from the Associated Press:
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Islamic insurgents seized a town in central Somalia, killing more than a dozen people Thursday, a resident and a spokesman for the militia said.
The attack on Adado, a town in the central Somali region of Galgudud, killed at least 15 people and wounded 16 others, witness Aden Haji Gedi said. It was the eighth town the Islamic militia has seized in recent months.
“Our fighters have taken the town and they have seized 11 trucks mounted with weapons and burned several others,” said Sheik Muqtar Robow, spokesman for al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab, or “The Youth,” is the military wing of the Council of Islamic Courts movement. The U.S. State Department considers al-Shabab a terrorist organization. The Council of Islamic Courts was driven out in December 2006 by Somalia’s weak Western-backed government and its Ethiopian allies.
Gedi, a resident of Adado, spoke to The Associated Press by VHF radio because telecommunications in the area had been cut since early Thursday.
“The fighting started at 6:00 a.m. local time near checkpoints outside the town and then it spread into the town,” he said. His account was independently confirmed by radio with two other residents.
The fighters were still present Thursday afternoon.
Adado is 660 kilometers (410 miles) north of the capital.
On Wednesday evening, hundreds of Islamic insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-guns briefly seized control of a central Somali town after government soldiers abandoned their post, residents said.
“The government soldiers left as soon as they heard Islamists are on their way,” said Mohamed Elmi Nor, a resident of Jalalaqsi town, 165 kilometers (100 miles) north of the capital.