Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Islamic fighters in Somalia talk of a guerrilla war

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 6, 2007

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Islamic fighters hiding in Mogadishu since their movement's main force was driven from the Somali capital say they will heed al-Qaida's call for guerrilla attacks and suicide bombings against Ethiopian troops whose intervention was key to the Islamists' defeat.

"I am committed to die for the sake of my religion and the al-Qaida deputy's speech only encourages me to go ahead with my holy war," 18-year-old Sahal Abdi told the Associated Press, referring to an audio message posted on the Internet on Friday by Ayman al-Zawahri, the No. 2 official in al-Qaida.

Troops of Somalia's transitional government, backed by the Ethiopian military, routed the Islamic militia from much of southern Somalia, ending their six months in power.

Interviews with militants who fought for the Council of Islamic Courts and went underground suggest their movement is fractured and cut off from its leaders but still motivated for battle.

Somalia's interior minister says 3,500 fighters are hiding around the capital, raising the specter of an Iraq-style guerrilla war as U.S., European Union, African and Arab diplomats meeting in neighboring Kenya agreed Friday on a plan to raise a foreign peacekeeping force for Somalia. The force is envisioned at 8,000 soldiers.

[Last modified January 6, 2007, 00:34:47]