MOGADISHU, Somalia, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Islamists rebels in Somalia lost control of a key town Wednesday as Ethiopian and loyal Somali troops advanced in a bid to recapture the capital, Mogadishu.
In a dawn attack, about 1,000 Islamists were routed from the town of Jowhar, and by afternoon, the Ethiopians and Somali forces were reportedly 18 miles from the capital, which has been held by the militant Union of Islamic Courts for six months, Voice of America reported.
Somalia's formal government has been in isolation in the town of Baidoa ever since.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said he was forced to act because the Islamist movement is being led by extremists who want to incorporate parts of Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya into a greater Somalia under strict religious rule.
Part of the Islamists' retreat could be rooted in the fact that two of their most senior leaders left the country for the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, which begins Thursday in Saudi Arabia, the BBC reported.
