New Delhi, Feb. 19 -- 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.

The turn comes at a pivotal moment: African Union peacekeeping forces are gradually drawing down and Somalia is assuming greater responsibility for its own security, nearly two decades after al-Shabab emerged as a dominant insurgent force.

Here is a look at what has changed and what remains uncertain in the conflict.

How Somalia got here

Al-Shabab emerged in the mid-2000s as ...