Mogadishu, 25 Feb-(ANA)-A Somali Islamist group with links to al-Qaeda has captured another town, the latest in a string of gains by the movement known as al-Shabab.
The rebels - who are opposed to UN-sponsored reconciliation efforts in Somalia - overpowered pro-government forces in Hudur early on Wednesday.
Four civilians in Mogadishu were killed bringing the death toll to about 50 and 120 injured from two days of fighting.
It comes days after the new president returned to the Somali capital.
Correspondents say it is the fiercest fighting since President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, was elected by MPs in January under a UN-brokered peace deal.
The first bunch of nearly 100 lawmakers and ministers arrived in Mogadishu from Djibouti on Wednesday to help the president in his efforts to set up a new unity government.
The failed Horn of Africa state has not had a functioning national government since 1991. (ANA)
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