MOGADISHU: African Union and Somali troops have captured the strategic Somali town of Afgoye from Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents, AU army spokesman Paddy Ankunda said Friday.

"We have crossed the River Shabelle and we are now there in Afgoye, we hold the town," Ankunda told AFP. "There is some shooting here and there, but mostly it is calm."

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012