( CNN ) -- Somalia 's hard-line Islamic group Al-Shabab seized control of Jowhar , the president 's hometown , after a battle with pro-government forces Sunday . An Islamist fighter mans a position in the streets of Mogadishu , Somalia , on Saturday . Jowhar is a major town 55 miles ( 88 kilometers ) southeast of Mogadishu , the capital . `` All businesses are closed and residents are already fleeing while Al-Shabab are roaming the streets , '' a local journalist said . The town had been under the control of forces backing the transitional government , which is scrambling to cope with deadly advances from Al-Shabab in Mogadishu . Al-Shabab was once the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union , which took over most of southern Somalia in the second half of 2006 . The United States says the group is affiliated with the al Qaeda terrorist network , and the U.S. backed an Ethiopian invasion that drove the ICU from power in 2006 . After seizing control of Jowhar on Sunday , the rebels started conducting `` search operations in the police station and the provincial headquarters of the town , '' the journalist added . The clashes extended into the suburbs of the town , where sporadic fighting was going on between the rebels and government forces , said the journalist , who requested anonymity for safety reasons . The town 's seizure comes amid escalating tension between Somalia 's transitional government and the Al-Shabab militia , which has waged days-long attacks in the capital . In the latest round of violence , one person was killed and 15 others wounded when mortars slammed into a police academy in Mogadishu on Sunday . Clashes between the rebels and the government in Mogadishu have left at least 103 people dead and 420 wounded , Somali officials said Friday . The east African nation has not had an effective government since 1991 . Last week , a spokesman for the rebel group said that it had successfully recruited more fighters . `` It is not only Somali jihadists that are fighting in Mogadishu against the government , '' said Sheikh Hassan Ya'qub , a spokesman for Al-Shabab . `` There are also foreign Muslim jihadist brothers who are fighting side by side with us . '' The new round of fighting stems from an interpretation of sharia , or Islamic law , the spokesman said . Somalia 's new president , Sheikh Sharif Ahmed , recently approved implementing sharia , but the rebel group wants the country to institute a stricter form . Meanwhile , a powerful Islamist warlord defected to the government Saturday after he disagreed with rebel Islamist groups on the war against the transitional government . The warlord , Sheikh Yusuf Mohamud Siad Indha Ade , was the military commander of Hassan Dahir Aweys , who is suspected by the United States of being a terrorist .
Group Al-Shabab is affiliated with al Qaeda , according to the U.S . Clashes between rebels and government killed 103 , wounded 420 , officials say . Al-Shabab recently said it has been successful at recruiting more members .