Somali government forces backed by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have launched security swoop and captured the strategic town of Beledweyne in Hiran region of Somalia.
The operation carried by joint allied forces was prompted by the killing of senior Somali National Army official by the members of the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab a few kilometers to Beledweyne police station.
The army official was shot dead in the central town of Beledweyne in the early hours of Wednesday morning, according to Mumin Hassan, a security official in the town of Beledweyne.
Hiran administration underlined that the military operations will be intensified until Beledweyne town and general Hiran region is free of Al-Shabaab militants and citizenry security is assured.