Ethiopia withdraws from Somalia el-Ali in Hiran region

Ethiopian troops fighting militant Islamist group al-Shabab have withdrawn from a key military base in central Somalia's Hiran region.
 
Reports say al-Shabab fighters have taken control of el-Ali village following the withdrawal.

The Ethiopian forces destroyed the base before abandoning the area.

A Somali security official said the troops withdrew after the base came under artillery fire.

In June, al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, said it had killed 60 Ethiopian soldiers in an attack on a base in Halgan town, also in central Somalia.
 
The withdrawal from el-Ali has made a large and strategic area vulnerable to occupation by the militants.

BBC