... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
positions and bases in southern Somalia, Press TV reported.
A Somali military official, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
, said that Kenyan air force jets and US terror drones struck an al-Shabaab training camps in Somalia's southwestern district of Badade on Wednesday. He added that 16 people were killed and dozens of others were maimed in the aerial strikes.
Hundreds of families have been fleeing towns in southern Somalia in the wake of Kenyan military's aerial strikes on al-Shabaab beturbanned goons' strongholds.
Residents in Kismayo, a strategically-important port city located some 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of the Somali capital Mogadishu, as well as in Buale, Jilib, and Afmadow towns have been leaving their homes over the past weeks for fear of their lives, according to Xinhua news agency.
Last month, Kenya dispatched soldiers over its border into Somalia to pursue Shabaab beturbanned goons, which it accuses of being behind the kidnapping of several foreigners on its territory. Al-Shabaab has denied involvement.
Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has said his UN-backed transitional government was opposed to the military incursion, which is reportedly being contributed to by the US and La Belle France.