Ethiopian and Somali government forces have captured the last remaining stronghold of the Union of Islamic Courts after several weeks of fighting.
Somali transitional government spokesperson, Abdirahman Dinari, confirmed the capture of Ras Kamboni, a coastal village near the southern border with Kenya in a statement this morning.
Mr Dinari said that the Islamists had fled into the surrounding forests, claiming they now posed 'no security threat'.
Somalia, a nation of some 10 million, has lacked an effective government since plunging into chaos after the departure of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
The Union of Islamic Courts took control of the capital Mogadishu last June, forcing out US-backed warlords.
The transitional government was formed in Kenya in 2004 and returned to Somalia the following year but, unable to go to Mogadishu, set up in the provincial town of Baidoa.
It remained largely powerless until Ethiopia weighed in against the growing strength of the Islamists with the tacit support of the US.
The US has repeatedly accused the Islamists of having links with the al-Qaeda movement.
Oxfam says 70 killed in raids
The British aid agency Oxfam and its partner organisations in Somalia have said that the recent US bombing raids in the Horn of Africa nation killed at least 70 nomadic herdsmen.
It says that the bombs struck vital water sources and livestock.
Oxfam's Regional Director, Paul Smith-Lomas, said the principle of distinguishing between civilian and military targets was being ignored.
The aid agency warned that the recent escalation in violence was making it difficult for it to reach people in need.
Last year, Somalia was hit first by severe drought and then the worst flooding in 50 years, leaving some 400,000 people homeless.
