With support from allied militia, Somalia hunts al-Shabab

By OMAR FARUK
Associated Press

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali authorities say militia members in central Somalia have helped kill scores of al-Shabab militants in an ongoing operation against the Islamic extremist rebels that is receiving air support from the United States. The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism said in a statement issued Tuesday tht suspected Al-Shabab fighters are being hunted in the Hiran region areas of Yasoman and Aborey, and more than 100 had died as of Sunday. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud  declared “total war” against the al-Qaida-linked rebels following a deadly attack on a hotel in Mogadishu last month. Al-Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage acknowledged the government’s uncompromising stance but insisted al-Shabab was undeterred.