Five die in Comoros island invasion

More than a dozen mysterious hooded men who invaded the smallest island in the Comoros archipelago appear to have been mercenaries.

Comorian troops have killed five of the insurgents.

A senior Comorian defence official said the men appeared intent on destabilising the tiny Indian Ocean islands ahead of a crucial referendum this weekend.

Earlier reports suggested the armed men, who claimed to be FBI agents and cut telephone links to the outside world, could have been hunting al-Qaida operatives, or even Osama bin Laden himself.

A Comorian - Fazul Abdullah Mohammed - has been indicted for his alleged role in the 1998 Nairobi embassy bombing which killed 12 Americans.

He is a fugitive, and was named as one of 22 most wanted terrorists by President George Bush.

Comorian troops killed five of the insurgents on Moheli island, said Mahamout Soilih, secretary-general for defence.

"Five bodies have been brought to Moroni. They are mercenaries, and one could be a Romanian," he said, adding that one government soldier was wounded.

Speaking in Moroni, the capital of the Comoros Islands, Soilih said it is not clear who was behind the pre-dawn incursion by between 15 and 30 hooded men.

"Whoever it was, they were intent on destabilising the Comoros just when we are trying to find a peaceful solution to our problems," he said.

The three island archipelago off the coast of Mozambique is holding a constitutional referendum on Sunday that, if approved, would allow greater autonomy to the three islands and end military rule in Moroni.