The Ras Kamboni Brigade has broken away from Hizbul Islam, merged formally with Shabaab, and pledged allegiance with al Qaeda. Ras Kamboni leader Hassan Turki and Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane attended a ceremony in Baidoa. An artillery exchange between insurgents and presidential palace troops killed at last 16 people in Mogadishu. Five people were killed when Hizbul Islam and pro-government Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama™a fighters engaged Shabaab fighters in Dhobley and Bula Hawa near the Kenyan border.
