Nairobi , Kenya ( CNN ) -- Kenyan soldiers , as part of African Union forces in Somalia , captured the key Al-Shabaab-controlled town of Afmadow on Wednesday , according to a Kenyan Defence Force spokesman . `` We now control Afmadow with our troops , '' Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir told CNN . The operation started early Wednesday , he said , with KDF forces capturing the town of Hayo . Six Al-Shabaab militants were killed in that operation . `` ( The troops ) then moved straight onto Afmadow , '' said Chirchir . Military analysts believe that Afmadow is a key step in Kenya 's campaign against Al-Shabaab , the Islamic militant group they have been fighting since they entered Somalia in October of last year . The town would serve as a staging point for any move on Kismayo , Al-Shabaab 's stronghold in southern Somalia . `` Afmadow is an important administrative town that was supplying Al-Shabaab fighters with money . It was their nerve center , '' said Chirchir . `` After the fall of Amfadow there is only Kismayo . '' Last week , the African Union Mission in Somalia ( AMISOM ) said it , along with Somali troops , had launched an offensive against militants in the Afgoye corridor , a densely-populated enclave near the volatile Somali capital of Mogadishu . The corridor , which has been controlled by the al Qaeda-backed Al-Shabaab , is populated with one of the largest populations of internally displaced people . The African Union said the militants have blocked many aid agencies from operating in the area . The campaign was `` going well , '' AMISOM spokesman , Lt. Col. Paddy Nkunda said last week . `` Al-Shabaab tried to fight , but they know they are about to lose Afgoye and our soldiers broke through their early resistance . '' Al-Shabaab announced in February that it was tightening its ties to al Qaeda . It has long been considered a terrorist movement by the United States . Al-Shabaab has waged an insurgency against Somalia 's feeble Transitional Federal Government since 2007 , but has suffered recent setbacks in its heartland in southern Somalia . AMISOM and government forces drove Al-Shabaab fighters from the center of Mogadishu last year , while Kenyan troops crossed into southern Somalia in October to hit back for a rash of kidnappings it blamed on the group . Despite their efforts , however , Al-Shabaab has continued to launch terror attacks in the capital . In a second operation , 14 Al-Shabaab militants were killed and 10 others injured Tuesday when a Kenyan Defense Forces naval ship engaged with militants at an Al-Shabaab seaport watch station , the KDF said . `` The incident occurred when a KDF naval ship was conducting routine sea patrol in the vicinity of ( the ) port of Kismayu , '' according to a KDF statement . Two on-shore structures were destroyed , officials said . Elsewhere , in Fafadun , 20 Al-Shabaab militants surrendered to KDF , officials said .
Kenyan troops now control Afmadow , an official says . The town is considered a key step in the campaign against Al-Shabaab . African Union troops last week launched an offensive against the militants .