Somali Islamists clash as Ethiopians withdraw

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Fighting between rival Somali Islamist groups and hardline insurgents on Washington's foreign terrorist list killed dozens of people north of the capital Mogadishu on Sunday, witnesses said.An Islamist insurgency has been battling government and Ethiopian troops for the past two years, ever since Addis Ababa sent forces to oust the Islamic Courts Union from Mogadishu...more.http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE50A17M20090111?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

jehadist release Somali MP after 5 days as captive

BAIDOA, Somalia - A member of Somalia's federal parliament who was kidnapped by Islamist insurgents last week has been released unharmed, Radio Garowe reports.Haji Abdi Mohamed, leader of the rebel group Somali Islamic Front in Bay region, said the rebels investigated MP Ahmed Abdi "Takil," who was kidnapped on Jan. 6 while traveling in Burhakaba district near Baidoa, seat of the Somali parliament.He cited unnamed Islamic scholars who advised the Islamist rebels to release the Somali lawmaker, who is reported to have joined the parliament less than two months ago.The road linking Mogadishu to Baidoa, which drives through Burhakaba, has been scene of ambushes and kidnappings for months as Islamist insurgents seek to cut the supply line for Ethiopian troops occupying Mogadishu.MP Takil becomes the second lawmaker to be kidnapped and released by Islamist rebels. In 2008, ex-Mogadishu warlord Osman Atto, who is now an MP, was briefly held hostage but later released unharmed.
Relatives said MP Takil is a representative from Puntland region, in northeastern Somalia.