09/09/08 (B464-B) Press – TV / Trois étudiants tués et 21 blessés dans une école islamique, lors d’une attaque par des soldats. Three killed in Somali Islamic school (En Anglais – Info lecteur)

Three students were killed and 21 seriously injured at an Islamic religious school in Somalia which was targeted by government forces.

The students were studying the Holy Qur’an on the seventh day of the Holy Month of Ramadan, when Somali government soldiers carrying AK-47 assault rifles opened fire at them.

According to the Press TV correspondent in Somalia, the soldiers attacked because they believed the school to be a center for the study of terrorism.

In another developmnet, in a northern part of the capital Mogadishu, heavy gunfire erupted between the Union of Islamic Courts fighters and Transitional Federal Government forces aided by the Ethiopian soldiers.

The extent of damage inflicted is not known at this time but our correspondent reports that fighting is ongoing in the area, particularly around the Ethiopian held Pasta military base.

The UIC controlled most of southern Somalia and the vast majority of the population (most of whom are Muslims) until the end of 2006. It was then overthrown by the transitional government forces, bolstered by US-backed Ethiopian troops. Since that time, perpetual conflict has made the country the most unstable in the world.