A Somali official says the insurgent group al-Shabab has received weapons from allies in Yemen.

The Somali consul in Yemen, Hussein Haji Ahmed, tells VOA that the Yemeni wing of al-Qaida recently sent 10 ships full of weapons to Somalia.

The consul said two of the ships were intercepted by Yemeni government forces, but that he believes the others reached parts of the Somali coast controlled by al-Shabab.

Ahmed said he received the information from intelligence sources he declined to identify.

Yemeni and international media reports also speak of al-Shabab receiving weapons from Yemen, which is separated from Somalia by the Gulf of Aden.

The insurgent group is trying to overthrow the U.N.-backed Somali transitional government and set up an Islamic state in Somalia. The group has lost ground to government and African Union troops in recent months but is expected to launch a counter-offensive during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.