INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: MOGADISHU, Somalia: Extremist Islamic militiamen beheaded two clerics from a rival group after stopping the vehicle taking them to be treated for wounds suffered in a gun battle, a spokesman for the clerics' group said.
The clerics were members of Ahlu Sunna Waljama which had been fighting against extremist al-Shabab militiamen in the town of Balad, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the capital Mogadishu, said spokesman Sheik Abdullahi Sheik Abu Yusuf.
Abu Yusuf blamed al-Shabab for the beheadings on Thursday but said the clerics were not involved in the earlier fighting. Al-Shabab controls large chunks of the country where it imposes a harsh brand of Islam, while battling government troops and African Union peacekeepers.
Abu Yusuf said the clerics were unarmed when they were wounded. "They did not take part in the recent clashes," Abu Yusuf told The Associated Press late Friday. >>> The Associated Press | Saturday, March 21, 2009
