Gunmen kill seven Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a Clerics aka sufi at mosque Somalia's Puntland,Visiting sufi preachers killed in Somali mosque

Masked gunmen killed seven Pakistani preachers at a mosque in Somalia's Puntland region today, residents and local officials said.
Residents said the attack took place after early morning prayers at the mosque in Galkayo in the semi-autonomous region, and was aimed at a group of 25 sheikhs who arrived yesterday."Six Pakistanis died on the spot while another Pakistani died from his injuries in the hospital. These men are Islamist preachers from Karachi, Pakistan," Hussein Abdullahi, chairman of Galkayo, said. "Puntland forces have now surrounded the area around the mosque to protect the other sheikhs."Western security agencies say Somalia is a haven for insurgents plotting attacks in the region and beyond. Puntland is a base for pirates targeting the Gulf of Aden, but has been more peaceful than the south of the failed Horn of Africa state.
Somalia has been torn by civil war since 1991, and the government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed controls only small pockets of the rubble-strewn capital Mogadishu. It is battling hardline Islamist rebels in southern and central regions, including the al Shabaab group, which the United States accuses of being al-Qaeda's proxy in Somalia...more..http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0812/breaking43.htm
Visiting sufi preachers killed in Somali mosque
Masked gunmen killed seven Pakistani preachers at a mosque in Somalia's Puntland region on Wednesday, residents and local officials said.Residents said the attack took place after early morning prayers at the mosque in Galkayo town and targeted a group of 25 mostly Pakistani sheikhs who had arrived in the semi-autonomous northern region a day earlier."Six Pakistanis died on the spot while another Pakistani died from his injuries in hospital," Galkayo chairman Hussein Abdullahi said."These men are Islamist preachers from Karachi, Pakistan."Puntland forces have now surrounded the area around the mosque to protect the other sheikhs."Puntland is a base for pirates targeting the Gulf of Aden, but has been more peaceful than the rest of Somalia, which Western security agencies say is a haven for insurgency in the region and beyond.The country has been torn by civil war since 1991 and the government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed controls only small pockets of the rubble-strewn capital Mogadishu...more...http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/12/2654168.htm?section=justin

Sheik Mohamed , a spokesman for the Ahlu Sunna (sufi)religious movement that controls the area, condemned the killings, saying they were "contrary to the teaching of Islam and all customary laws".
Ahlu Sunnah Take District in Central Somalia, http://allafrica.com/stories/200908120354.html