Somali Islamists shabaab shoot at unknown choppers over southern towns

Islamist fighters in two southern coastal Somali towns on Tuesday fired anti-aircraft missiles at unidentified low-flying helicopters, residents said.The helicopters were seen over the insurgent-controlled towns of Marka and Barawe in Lower Shabelle region, respectively 100 and 200 kilometers south of the Somali capital Mogadishu.Residents in the both towns said that fighters of Islamist rulers fired bullets and missiles at the aircrafts after they hovered over the coastal area. However, it was not clear the identity of the aircrafts or if they carried out any attacks in the towns.Some local media reported that at least one of the helicopters briefly landed in El Jale village close to the town of Marka.Some reports say that the helicopters were in hot-pursuit of suspected Somali pirates based in the coastal towns but that could not be verified.Last year U.S. helicopters strafed a vehicle carrying Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a Kenyan-born senior Al Qaeda figure, who was among those killed in the raid in Barawe.Nabhan who was also was members of Somalia's Al Shabaab insurgent movement, wanted by the U.S. in connection with bombings in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa in 2002.Radical Islamist group of Al Shabaab controls both towns as well as much of south and centre of war-ravaged country.A senior leader of al Shabaab, Adan Hashi Ayro, was also killed by U.S. air strike in central Somalia early last year.The U.S., which backs the internationally recognized Somali government, considers the hardline group a terrorist entity with links to Al Qaeda. Source:Xinhua