Radical Islamist named as new leader

A FUNDAMENTALIST Muslim whom the US suspects of collaborating with al-Qaida terrorists has been named as the new leader of an Islamic militia that has seized control of Somalia’s capital.

The militia, which on Saturday changed its name from the Islamic Courts Union to the Conservative Council of Islamic Courts, said in a statement it had appointed Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys as its new leader.

The Bush administration has said Mr Aweys was an associate of Osama bin Laden in the early 1990s.