... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
fighters 20 km north of Baladwayne. He said Al-Shabaab had repelled the soldiers three times.
On its Twitter account, Al-Shabaab quoted Abu Musab as saying the gunnies had declared a "planned withdrawal" from the town because of Ethiopia's "indiscriminate" shelling. The claim could not be independently verified.
Local elder Hassan Abdi said many residents had decamped the town as the warring parties fought on the outskirts.
"We do not have details about casualties. No fighting took place in the town itself. The town is calm," he said.