Al-Shabaab fighters have taken over the strategic town of Aadan Yabaal in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region after a dawn attack with explosions and hours of fighting, local sources revealed.

The assault, which started, continued throughout the day for over five hours and featured heavy fire from both sides. The town, the most important central Somalia hub, was under control of the government since it was recaptured from militants late in 2022.

Residents and officers in the military confirmed that the town was captured after Al-Shabaab attacked from multiple directions. The group stated that it had overrun 10 military positions in the operation and posted unverified video of fighters advancing through the region. One soldier who helped evacuate the wounded said that forces made a “tactical withdrawal” after prolonged fighting.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, a native of the area and who recently toured the town to mobilize local fighters, accepted the loss in a Wednesday speech.

“If Al-Shabaab takes one town, that does not mean they overwhelmed us,”

he stated. 

“There is a great difference between a war and a battle.”

Al-Shabaab put out a statement by midday asserting full domination of Aadan Yabaal. The militants also put out videos on social media claiming to depict its combatants and military trucks moving inside the town. 

Al-Shabaab’s capture of Aadan Yabaal is one of the several campaigns called the Shabelle offensive, initiated in February 2025. It has augmented attacks by more than 50% compared to 2024 in Hiraan and Middle Shabelle regions, as indicated by data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). Its gains have stalled some of the federal government’s own territorial gains made during its historic 2022 counteroffensive.

The fall of Aadan Yabaal is especially symbolic. A longtime Al-Shabaab administrative center, the town had been recaptured by Somali forces in 2022 and had become a launching point for government incursions into areas held by militants. Its fall marks the determination of Al-Shabaab, which has continued to reorganize itself despite U.S. airstrikes and Turkish military aid to the Somali federal government.

Fears are growing that Al-Shabaab is trying to surround Mogadishu. Militants briefly took over villages within 50 kilometres of the capital last month and attempted a failed assassination on President Mohamud with a massive roadside bomb. The blast killed at least four individuals but did not harm the president. Although international observers have not indicated an imminent danger to the capital, recent propaganda by the militant group has suggested a new stage in its campaign.

Government troops and allied community defence militias, or Ma’awisleey, were said to be reorganizing on the outskirts of the town, ready for a possible counterattack. The Somali federal government had no official word on Wednesday evening.

Efforts to verify casualties and evaluate the situation within the town have been hindered by a telecommunications blackout in Aadan Yabaal and surrounding villages.