Rebels behead 11 in Somalia

SOMALI Islamist rebels have beheaded at least 11 civilians in the capital in the past two weeks, a campaign of terror that residents said is designed to show the insurgency can still act in Mogadishu after withdrawing from their bases there earlier this month.

“We wake up with beheaded bodies on the streets every day,” said Abdinur Marwan, who lives in Mogadishu. “They call themselves Muslims while doing what Allah banned. Everyone is trying to leave because people are being killed like goats.”

The Islamist al-Shabab militia withdrew from their bases in the Somali capital after being steadily pushed back by more heavily armed African Union forces supporting the UN-backed Somali government.