Eight die in Somali shootings

Somali troops have shot dead seven civilians in southern Mogadishu after accusing them of being Islamic insurgents while a Somali aid worker affiliated to the UN World Food Programme was shot dead in a separate incident, according to witnesses.

Witness Liban Ahmed said today government soldiers killed at least seven civilians and wounded four more during an operation in Daynile neighbourhood in the capital but government commander Dahir Ali Farey insisted the dead were Islamist fighters.