as two military vehicles after running away from their military position in the area," al Qadi told the media Wednesday morning.

"Our forces also counted at least 20 dead bodies from the militant group," he added.

The spokesman noted that one of the ASWJ soldiers suffered a light injury in the shoulder.

He vowed that combating the al Qaeda-linked group will continue until all Somali regions fall into the hands of Somali government and Ahlu Sunna Waljama and Somali people will be free from what he described as the colony of fundamentalists whose aim is to destroy the sovereignty and existence of the Horn of African nation.

The surprise attack comes hours after Somali forces in Luq town came under hit and run attacks. Four soldiers of the Somali army were slain,according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

A spokesperson for al Shabaab claimed their fighters inflicted heavy losses in the attach.

Since April, al Shabaab has lost key military positions in the Somali capital as well as strategic towns in Gedo and Lower Jubba regions in southern Somalia.

NORFOLK, Va. -- A Somali man accused of acting as chief negotiator for pirates who took four Americans hostage and killed them in February is scheduled for an arraignment heraring in

Virginia. Mohammad Saaili Shibin will appear before a federal judge in Norfolk on Wednesday. He faces piracy, kidnapping and weapons charges in association with the hijacking of the yacht Quest several hundred miles south of Oman.Federal prosecutors say Shibin is