Somalia’s fight against extremist militants shows signs of success on streets of Mogadishu

MOGADISHU: (Jan 8) (AP) Mogadishu’s first line of defence against the next militant attack on Somalia’s capital ranges from machine gunners in pick-up trucks to young men in plainclothes manning checkpoints.

One of the leaders is Abdikani Ali Mohamed, a teenage-faced colonel whose authority has grown in the city as Somalia’s government tries to dismantle al-Shabab networks.

Mohamed’s operatives are so suspicious that even an armored vehicle — the ultimate status symbol beloved by important people — triggers alarm if it has not passed through a checkpoint for days.