Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- U. S. -backed airstrikes and recently expanded ground operations have shifted momentum in Somalia 's long-running war against al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militant group, the government says, touting successes in the fight such as efforts to reclaim territory from the extremists and the targeting of the group's leadership and bomb-making network.