Parts of al-Shabaab stronghold seized

Somalian troops and Ethiopian forces seized control of parts of Baido town, an al-Shabaab stronghold, after battling the Islamist militants, a lawmaker said. Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade, a member of Parliament in Somalia, told Shabelle Media Wednesday the troops had seized parts of the southern Somali town after heavy fighting. Shabelle Media also had reported Wednesday the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab had pulled out of Baidoa and another strategic southern Somalia town, Bardale, as Somalian soldiers and Ethiopian tanks approached. Somalian and Ethiopian troops were planning a wider offensive against al-Shabaab, which controls parts of central and southern Somalia, Shabelle said. Residents fled their homes in parts of southern Somalia because they feared heavy fighting between militants and coalition forces from Somalia and Ethiopia. The fighting comes about two weeks after al-Qaida said al-Shabaab, which has fought for control of Somalia for five years, is part of its network.