Religious Terrorism: Al Shabaab gunmen kill clerics at religious centre in Somalia

Al Shabaab gunmen attacked a religious centre in central Somalia on Monday, killing a cleric and 10 of his followers, a spokesman for the militant Islamist group said.

"A car bomb rammed into the centre of the man who insulted the prophet. Our militants are now inside and fighting goes on," Al Shabaab spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters.

He later said the cleric Abdiweli was killed in the attack along with 10 of his followers.

The casualties could not be independently confirmed.

Residents of Galkayo, where the centre is located, and a regional official said Abdiweli may have been targeted because his centre hosts mostly youths who play music and dance.

Al Shabaab said last year the cleric had referred to himself as the Prophet, an accusation denied at the time by Abdiweli.

"We cannot know the figure of casualties right now. Al Shabaab had threatened him many times," Abdirashid Hashi, the governor of Mudug region, told Reuters.

Al Shabaab is fighting to topple the Somali government and establish its own rule based on its harsh interpretation of Islamic law. The group controls small sections on the Mudug region, but it does not include Galkayo.

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