United and fighting side by side against African Union peacekeepers and Somali government forces, Al shabaab militant and Hizbul Islam Islamist groups clashed for the third time for control over Buurhakaba, a district in Bay region of southern Somalia, killing 5 people and injuring more than 10 0thers, local residents said Saturday.


The clash erupted early Saturday morning after Hizbul Islam militiamen, accompanied by military vehicles, launched an attack on Buurhakaba, where Al shabaab militants took over from them a week ago.


Locals said the crackling of machine gunfire and the woosh of shoulder launched missiles frightened the villagers.


Habibo Hassan, a local resident, told the media that the confrontation lasted about 5 hours, spelling out she had seen one dead fighter along with 3 wounded civilians at the center of the town.


Insurgents’ fighting erupted last week after the Al Qaeda-inspired group Al Shabaab ordered Hizbul Islam fighters in the area to stop taking money from public buses traveling between Mogadishu and the Bay region.


Officials from Hizbul Islam told the local press that they took control of Buurhakaba, which is about 110 KM southwest of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, adding they also captured six fighters and a battle-wagon from Al Qaeda’s proxy in war-torn Somalia.


But, Habibo Hassan says that the town is still divided as sporadic gun battles could be heard and no group fully controls the town.


for the third time, Islamist rival antagonists clashed over the control oof the strategic town that connects Mogadishu city to some regions in south of the country.


In October 2009, Hizbul Islam and Al Shabaab battled for control of Kismayo, a strategic port town in the Lower Jubba region where militants from Al Shabaab had taken control. Also early this year, the two groups clashed in the Hiran region in central Somalia, a region Al Shabaab currently controls.