Al Shabaab militants retook control of a key town in central Somalia hours after it was abandoned by Somali soldiers and allied forces serving with African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Garowe Online reported.

Residents in Moqokori said that allied forces that spent a night inside the town moved out of it, allowing the Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Shabaab fighters to enter without encountering resistance.

The reason for the troops' withdrawal from Moqokori town was not clear. AMISOM and Somali National Army officials in Hiiraan region were not immediately available for comment.

Al Shabaab has in the past staged multiple attacks against AMISOM bases, as part of its guerrilla warfare strategy to drive out foreign troops and topple Somalia's Western-backed government in the capital Mogadishu.

Source: MENA