Somali Islamists seize key port

Hundreds of fighters loyal to the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS) faced no resistance as they swept into the port of Hobyo on machine-gun mounted pick-ups known as "battlewagons" or "technicals," officials and residents said.

"We have extended our reach to Hobyo," a senior SICS official said in Mogadishu, from where the Islamists have expanded their territory since taking it from warlords in June after months of fierce fighting.

"We did not capture it but we reached the people of Hobyo to bring them our message of peace," the officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The courts were welcomed by the people of Hobyo, this is a great gift from the mighty Allah, we thank him," a second senior Islamist official said.

There is no telephone communication to Hobyo, about 500 kilometers north of Mogadishu, but residents reached by radio confirmed the Islamists had entered the town after several days of talks with elders.

The move north follows the weekend seizure by the Islamists of the port of Haradere, further south, from where bands of pirates had been operating, staging more than 40 attacks on commercial ships off the Somali coast.

Earlier, Islamist officials said about 100 government troops, along with seven battlewagons, crossed into Islamist territory overnight from near the temporary government seat of Baidoa.

"The militiamen communicated with Al-bayan Islamic court in Mogadishu and said they wanted to join our holy effort to bring peace to the Somali people," said court chairman Mohamed Ali Bilal.