MOGADISHU May 2: Islamist militants on Friday vowed to avenge the killing of a man said to be Al Qaeda’s chief in war-torn Somalia and warned people from nations they consider hostile to stay away from the country.

The US military on Thursday killed Moalim Aden Hashi Ayro and at least 11 others when it bombed a house in the central town of Dhusamareb.“We call on governments that support Ethiopia and America to keep their citizens out of Somalia,” said Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, spokesman for Shabab, the armed wing of the Somali Islamists. “We vow that we are going to avenge the death of Ayro,” he added.

Ethiopia has troops in Somalia backing the transitional government and the United States has given Ethiopia tacit support in its campaign against the Islamist movement..—AFP