advisers who had been captured by insurgents. One of the hostages eventually was able to escape by August 2009, while the other was last seen in a video released in June 2010 asking for assistance. The United States also took up targeting Al-Qaeda members such as Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who was killed along with 6 others in military helicopter raid on 15 September. Al-Shabaab-Hizbul Islam conflict The armed conflict between Hizbul Islam and al-Shabaab began due to a dispute between the faction of the Ras Kamboni Brigades led by Sheikh Ahmed "Madoobe" and al-Shabaab, over a power sharing agreement in Kisimayo. Hizbul Islam and al-Shabaab had made a power sharing agreement for the city, where the power would rotate between the two factions, with each faction controlling the city for periods of six months. However, due to clan politics al-Shabaab refused to let the power rotation take place. This led to internal problems within Hizbul Islam as its ARS-A and JABISO factions, which were aligned with al-Shabaab in Hiran and Mogadishu, refused to support the Ras Kamboni Brigades, while Anole remained neutral. It also led to a split within the Ras Kamboni Brigades, with a faction led by Hizbul Islam's deputy chairman Sheikh Hassan "Turki" refusing to back Ahmad "Madoobe" and instead siding with al-Shabaab. It was reported on 1 October that heavy fighting in Kisimayo had broken out between the two factions, al-Shabaab controlled most of the city with dozens of casualties reported by the afternoon. At least 17 more people were killed in a series of battles overnight on 5 October. Hizbul Islam claimed that they had captured foreign fighters in the battle. The battle eventually ended with a decisive victory for al-Shabaab, which expelled Madbobe's Ras Kamboni Brigade forces from the city. Throughout 2009 November, fighting between the two factions continued as the battle lines moved into Southern Somalia, resulting in a decrease in insurgent attacks at Mogadishu targeting government forces (TFG) and their allies (AMISOM). Sheikh Ahmad Madobe's forces were ultimately overpowered by al-Shabaab and its local allies, and forced to withdraw from the Lower Jubba region and most of Southern Somalia. The merger between al-Shabaab and Sheikh Hassan Turki's branch of the Ras Kamboni Brigades occurred early in 2010 (February) with a call for other groups in Hizbul Islam to do the same. Additional battles throughout 2010 were fought between Hizbul Islam and al-Shabaab