MOGADISHU, Somalia, April 6 (UPI) -- Heavy fighting between the rebel group Harakat al-Shabaab and paramilitary forces broke out Tuesday in central Somalia, officials in Mataban district said.
Islamic fighters of al-Shabaab attacked bases belonging to Ahlu Sunna waljama, a Somali paramilitary group fighting to prevent fundamentalist Islam from taking hold in Somalia, the Shabelle Media Network reported.
Officials and witnesses to the fighting told Shabelle that al-Shabaab had taken control of the district in Somalia's Hiran region.
Some officials of Ahlu Sunna confirmed to Shabelle that their forces had retreated from the district.
There was no word on civilian or military casualties.
Ahlu Sunna Waljama took up arms against al-Shabaab in 2008 when the Islamic group began destroying the tombs of the country's Sufi saints.
